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A TREASURY 

OF 

ETOIIiY ^E?IDII)G, 

PERTAINING TO 

God, The Ghu^sh, The Family, Life, 
Death, and Heayen. 


EDITED ZB“5T 

Rev. G. W.AVILLIARD, D. D„ 

Rev. E. HERBRUCK, PH. D., 

Rev M. LOUCKS; A. M„ 

Rev. E. R. WILLIARD, A. M. 



“The purest feelings of the heart, 

Still cluster round our home.” 

'—Fanny J. Crosby. 





DAYTON, OHIO: 
REFORMED PUBLISHING COMPAN 

1 883 . 


EP 24 : n 

BoJH&J'O 

UR °F WASH^^f ^ 







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Copyright by the Reformed Publishing Company, 1883. 




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PREFACE. 

We do not feel that any apology is necessary for the publi¬ 
cation of another book pertaining to the Family, as anything 
done to improve and elevate it must meet with the cordial 
approbation of all well-wishers of society. That many excel¬ 
lent books have been written, covering this department of 
literature, we gladly admit, and no doubt they have done good. 
And yet true as this is, the subject has not been exhausted, nor 
overdone. 

As far as our knowledge goes, there is no book that covers 
the ground that this does. The Golden Dawn , Gems For 
The Fire-side , The Royal Path of Life , Mother , Home 
and Heaven , and other popular books, are all excellent works 
of their kind, and have been widely circulated, and yet it 
requires only a glance at the Table of Contents of this volume 
to see that it has a mission of its own, that it is unique and 
fills a place which no other book occupies. 

The subjects which form the central ideas of the Book— 
“God,” u The Church,” u The Family,” u Life,” “Death,” and 
“Heaven”—are such as deeply concern us all, and about 
which no one can, or ought to be indifferent. For, if there be 
a God, as we verily believe there is, we ought to know who he 
is, what relations he sustains to us, and what duties we owe to 
him. In like manner there are subjects pertaining to the 
church, the family, life, death and heaven, in reference to 
which we ought to have clear and definite information, so as 
to make the best possible use of the short time allotted to us 
in this world, that, when called to leave it, we may have a 
bright and cheering hope of a blessed immortality. 

Another peculiar feature of the Book is the very large 
number of its excellent contributors, containing as it does 
articles from the pens of over one hundred active and devoted 
ministers and Christian workers , old and young, a peculiarity 
which cannot fail to give it special interest, in view of the 
variety of topics, views, live thoughts and religious experi- 


PREFACE. 


4 

ence which it contains. The articles are also short, so that 
they can be read at intervals, and are written both to please 
and instruct the reader, and encourage him to seek after true 
manhood and nobility of character. So many indeed are the 
contributors, who have kindly aided us in our work, all of 
whom have our sincere thanks, and so many the selections we 
have made from the best writers in our language that we may 
say, 

“We have gathered posies from other men’s flowers, 

Nothing but the thread that binds them is ours.” 

A book containing the reading matter this does, cannot fail 
to be a blessing and educator in the families where fit may 
find a welcome, having a word for father, mother, husband, 
wife, sister, brother and the children, showing the relations 
which they sustain to each other and the duties arising there¬ 
from. 

It has been prepared with special reference to the wants of 
the Family, as its name imports, in which it asks a place as a 
Treasury to be prized, read and studied, promising a rich 
reward to those, who so treat and regard it. If this end is sub¬ 
served the Publishers will feel that they have done a good 
work, as he is a benefactor, who contributes to the elevation 
of the family, where the characters of those who will soon 
sway and control the destinies of the church and nation are 
f ormed. 

As our object, therefore, is to improve and elevate the 
Family, we ask the hearty co-operation of our friends in the 
circulation of the Book, believing, as we do, that he, who takes 
it up, having time only to read an article now and then, u will 
find some savory morsel of wisdom; some sweet touch of 
poetry; some timely hint for the hour, or some rich cluster of 
truths, that shall be like a bunch of grapes from the King’s 
own garden.” 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


THE BEING OF COD. 

Preface . 

Table of Contents . 

The Being and Character of God. Rev. Geo. W. Milliard, I). D. 

Proof of the Being of God from Geology. Rev. R. Goon. 

Proofs of the Being of God from Nature. Rev. Geo. W. Willi ard, D. D 

Proof of the Being of God from Our Moral Nature. Selection. 

Without God there can be no Morality. Selection.. . 

Derzhaven’s “ Ode to God.” Selection . 

The Character of God. Rev. Geo. W. Milliard, D. D. 

Ode on God. Selection . 

The Character of God in the Light of Astronomy. Prop. C. Hornung . 

An Ode to God. Selection . 

The Mystery of the Being and Character of God. Rev. J. H. Good, I). D 

The Relation of God to the World. Prof. A. S. Zeiibe. 

The Providence of God. Rev. W. H. Shultz. . 

The Duties We Owe to God. Rev. Geo. W. Milliard, D. D. 

The Worship of God. Rev. J. H. Good, D. D . 

The Worship of the Churches. Rev. J. H. Good, D. D . 

The Praise of God. Rev. John B. Rust .. 

Praising God in Song. Rev. Geo. W. Milliard, D. D . 

Praise to God from all Creatures. Selection . 

Obedience to God. Rev. E. Herbruck . 

Prayer. Rev. Geo. W. Milliard, D. 1) . 

The Efficacy of Prayer. Rev. I. S. Hahn ... 

Believing Prayer. Rev. Geo. W. Milliard, D. D . 

Prayer Heard and Answered. Selection . 

Practical Atheism Common. Selection . 

Bold Utterances of Atheists. Rev. Geo. W. Milliard, D. D. 

Why Men are Sceptics. Selection .... 


PAGE. 

3 


. 11 
. 14 

. 18 
. 20 
. 21 
. 23 
20 
28 
20 

. 22 
Hi » 

. 

. 37 

. 40 
. 43 
. 4f> 
. 40 
53 

57 

58 

. 00 
. 03 
. 00 
. 08 
70 
. 71 
• 73 


THE CHURCH. 


The Church the Kingdom of God in the World. Rev. II. M. Herman, D. T). 77 

Christ the Head and Founder of the Church. Rev. L. Grosenbaugh . 81 

Jesus of Nazareth. Who is He? Rev. Geo. W. Willi ard, D. D. 84 

The Character of Jesus Original and Unique. Rev. Geo. W. Milliard, 1). 1) .... 87 

The Character of Jesus of Nazareth Comprehensive anil World-Embracing. Rev. 

Geo. W. Milliard, D. D.. 80 

The Character of Jesus Absolutely Perfect and Sinless. Rev. G. W. Milliard, D. D. 01 

Christ the Corner-Stone. Rev. J. Vogt, D. D. 03 

Christ the Loveliest. Selection... 03 

Jesus Christ Above All. Selection. 94 

Jesus in the Storm. Rev. J. Vogt, D. D. 95 

The Real Christ or None. Rev. J. Vogt., D. D. 0t» 

Rationalistic Objection to the Divinity of Christ Answered. Selection.100 

Holy Baptism. Rev. Geo. W. Milliard, D. D..103 

The Mode of Baptism. Rev. J. A. Keller. 105 

The Subjects of Baptism. Rev. J. J. Leberman. 110 

Christmas. Rev. E. Herbruck . 110 

Christmas Song. Selection. 119 

New Year’s Eve. Selection. 120 

New Year Reflections. Rev. E. Herbruck. 121 

The Suffering Savior. Rev. S. Shaw ... 124 

The Cross. Selection. 127 

First Easter-Eve. Selection. 128 

Easter. Rev. S. C. Goss. 129 

Whitsunday. Rev. I. H. Reiter, D. D. 131 

The Lord’s Supper. Rev. H. Rust, D. D. . 135 

Church Festivals. Rev. L. H. Kefauver, D. D.. 140 

The Bible. Rev. H. FI. Sandoe. 144 

Angels’Prayer. Selection .:.. 146 

Bible Reading. Rev. J. Michael ...147 

The Study of the Bible. Rev. F. C. Bauman. 149 

The Truth of the Bible Vindicated. Henry Leonard... 153 

The Bible a Revelation of all we Need. Selection. 150 

The Promises of the Gospel. Rev. A. Casselman. 157 

What Great Men Say of the Bible. Rev. J. Stuck. 100 

Popular Preaching. Rev. E. P. Herbruck..162 















































































6 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Church Attendance. Rev. O. E. Lake . 165 

Congregational Work. Rev. W. A. Hale . 169 

The Prayer-Meeting. Rev. E, R. Williard. 173 

The Posture in Public Prayer. Prof. A. S. Zerbe . 177 

The Sunday-school. Rev. E. R. Williard . 179 

Missionary Work. Rev. J. M. Kendig . 185 

Christian Benevolence. Rev. J. G. Shoemaker . . 188 

Giving Makes Living. Selection . 191 

Scatter Your Gifts Now. Selection . 192 

“ She Hath Done What She Could,” Selection, . 192 

Union with Christ in the Church. Rev. John Vogt, D. D . 198 

A Profession of Religion. Rev. C. M. Schaff . 196 

Attractive Christians. Rev. A. Hawker . 200 

Two Christians. Selection . 202 

What it is to be a Christian. Rev. J. Huston Bomberger . 203 

The Earnest Christian. Rev. W. A. Long . 205 

Why All Should Become Christians. Rev. M. F. Frank . 208 

Excuses for not being a Christian. Rev. J. Richards . 211 

Personal Consecration. Rev. S. Ream ... 214 

Consecration to the Church. Rev. E. R. Williard . 217 

The Pleasures of Religion. Rev. N. W. Bloom . 220 

Congregational Singing in Ancient Times. Prof. A. S. Zerbe . 223 

Congregational Singing in Modern Times. Prof. A. S. Zerbe .. 225 

The Old Man in the Stylish Church. Selection . 228 

The Model Church. Selection . 230 

Christian Influence. Rev. G. H. Souder . . 231 

The Influence of Doing Good to Others. Selection . 235 

No King Rewards his Loyal Subjects like Christ. Rev. J. J. M. Gruber. 236 

True Strength—Its Source—Our Need and Use of It. Rev. J. R. Skinner . 238 

Christian Assurance. Rev. J. Iiile . 241 

Why we Observe the First Day of the Week as the Christian Sabbath. Rev. A. E. 

Baiciily .. 244 

The Sanctification of the Sabbath. Mrs. M. Lib. Gruber . 247 

Position of the Church with Reference to the Sin of Intemperance. Rev. A. K. 

Zartman . 249 

One Sheaf—A Pastor’s Song. Selection . 254 

THE FAMILY, 

The Family a Divine Constitution. Rev. N. H. Loose ... 259 

The Happy Home. Rev. M. Loucks . 263 

The Family Circle—What it Is. Selection ... 267 

Home Defined. Selection. . 267 

Home of My Childhood. Selection . 268 

Home Songs. Selection. . 268 

Marriage—Its Nature and Duties. Rev. A. Henry. . 269 

Wedded for Heaven. Selection . 274 

Divorces. Rev. Geo. W. Williard, D. D . 277 

Our Lambs. Selection . 280 

Cradle Hymn. Selection . 282 

A Child’s Prayer. Selection . 283 

The Children.* Selection . 283 

Boys. Rev. Scott F. IIersiiey . 285 

Advice to Boys. Henry Leonard . 288 

The Young Lady and Moral Reform. Rev. M. Loucks . 292 

Female Education. Mrs. E. Ione Henry . 296 

Family Religion. Rev. S. B. Yockey . 300 

How to Promote Family Religion. Rev. G. H. Leonard . 304 

Oneness of the Family in the Faith and Hope of Heaven. Rev. J. Steiner.. 307 

The Husband the Head of the Family. Selection . 310 

The Mother’s Quiet Home-Life. Selection . 311 

A Mother’s Influence. Rev. S. P. Mauger . 313 

A Mother’s Cares. Mrs. Elvira S. Yockey . 315 

My Mother’s Bible. Selection . 319 

A Father’s Charge to his Son. Rev. Henry King . 320 

Parental Responsibility. Rev. F. Strassner . 322 

Relation Between Parents and Children. Rev. D. Lantz . 324 

Birthday—Washington’s. Selection . 327 

Family Government—What is It? Selection . 330 

The Old Arm Chair. Selection . 331 

The Home Conversation. Selection . 332 

Family Reading. Rev. Geo. W. Williard, D. D. . 336 

Courtesy in the Family. Rev. J. A. Novinger . 340 

Home Memories. Rev. John D. Neff . 342 

Home Training for Children. Selection ... 345 

Home Instruction. Selection . 346 











































































CONTENTS 


7 


PAGE. 


Home Influences. Rev. A. Henry . . 347 

Goodness. Selection . 351 

Home Amusements. Rev. Geo. W. Williard, D. D. 352 

Lies—Social and Mechanical. Selection .355 

The Training of Children. Selection . 358 

Great Men’s Wives. Selection .359 

The Education of Children. Rev. J. B. Henry . 363 

The Home Feast on Thanksgiving Day. Selection . 365 

A Plea for Job’s Wife. Selection . 369 

Speak Gently. Selection . 371 

Somebody’s Mother. Selection . 372 

There’s None Like a Mother, if Ever so Poor. Selection . 374 

Orphan Children. Rev. P. C. Prugh . 375 


LIFE. 


What is Life ? Rev. Geo. W. Williard, D. D. .381 

A Picture of Life. Selection. 385 

A Psalm of Life. Selection.388 

Life a Seed Time. Rev. J. H. Steele . ; .389 

Youth—Its Joys and Dangers. Rev. D. H. Reiter.•..393 

The Opportunities Young Men Ha\'e to Make Life a Success. Rev. Frank Wetzel 396 

Manhood. Rev. D. S. Fouse. 400 

Ideals of Life. Rev. E. D. Wettach. 404 

The Duties and Responsibilities of Life. Rev. S. Mase. 407 

The Cares and Perplexities of Life. Rev. John V. Potts . 410 

Choosing a Profession. Rev. R. Keller. 416 

Success in Life. Prof. F. P. Matz.. 419 

How to Make Life Happy. Rev. J S. Shade. 422 

A Call to Life’s Work. Selection. 424 

The Dignity of Labor. Rev. J. L. Bretz. 426 

The Village Blacksmith. Selection. 430 

Farm Life. Rev. E. R. Williard. 431 

The Farmer’s Lad. Selection. 435 

Paying the Fare. Selection. 436 

The Price we Pay. Rev. E. R. Williard. 439 

A Consistent Life. Rev. W. Wasnich. 441 

An Upright, Christian Life. Rev. T. H. Winters. 444 

An Humble Life. Rev. P. J. Spangler.447 

Only an Empty Vessel for the Master. Selection. 450 

The" Formation of Character. Rev. F. W. Stump. 451 

The Influence of Small Things in the Formation of Character. Prof. C. M. Lowe 455 

Influence of Associates. Rev. J. W. Barber .. >.458 

The Lights and Shadows of Life. Rev. I. A. Sites. 460 

Light in the Cloud. Rev. M. Loucks. 464 

The Uncertainty of Life. Rev. D. M. Christman. 467 

Mistakes in Life. Rev. D. R. Taylor. ... 470 

The True End of Life. Rev. J. T. Hale. 473 

Life’s Tears Bottled. Selection. 475 

Proofs of Another Life. Rev. Rufus B. Zartman. 480 

I’m Growing Old. Selection. ±82 

Old Age. Rev. D. Winters, D. D..484 

Eventide. Selection. 488 

Horticulture. Rev. E. H. Otting. 489 


DEATH. 


Dying. Selection. 497 

What is Death? Selection.:. 498 

The Stream of Death. Selection.. 498 

Preparation for Death. Rev. B. F. Tucker... 499 

The Solemnity of Death. Rev. John H. Beck. 503 

The Hour of Death. Selection. 507 

Answer “To the Hour of Death.” Selection. 508 

The Certainty of Death. Rev. Geo. W. Williard, D. D. 509 

How to Die Peacefully. Selection. 511 

A Calm and Peaceful Death. Selection. 512 

The Last Hour. Rev. E. R. Williard. 513 

The Death-Bed. Selection. 522 

Deth-Bed Repentance. Rev. M. H. Groh. 523 

The Father’s Death. Selection. . . 526 

Death of Mother. Rev. E. M. Beck... 527 

The Young Mother’s Death. Selection. 530 

The Death of Children. Selection. 531 

Does Death End All? Rev. H. H. W. Hibshman, D. D. . 535 

Cato on Immortality. Selection. 539 






































































8 


CONTENTS 


Page. 

Decoration Day. Rev. E. R. Williard . 540 

Decoration Day. Selection . 544 

Wait a Minute. Rev. J. Vogt, D. D . 545 

Servant of God, Well Done. Selection . 546 

The Burial of Moses. Selection . 547 

Christian Consolation. Rev. R. B. Reichard . 549 

Voices of the Dead. Rev. G. W. Remagen . 553 

Over the River. Selection . 555 

God’s Acre. Selection . 556 

Words of Comfort to a Bereaved Mother. Selection . 557 

My Mother’s Grave. Selection . 558 

Almost Home. Selection . 559 

Blessed are They That Mourn. Selection . 559 • 

A Mysterious Providence. Rev. J. Vogt, D. D . 560 

A Transplanted Flower. Rev. J. Vogt, D. D . 561- 

Mourning for the Dead. Selection .: • 562 

HEAVEN. 

What Heaven Is. Rev. H. H. W. Hibshman, D. D . 565 

Nearness to Heaven. Selection . 570 

Heaven a Little Way. Selection . 571 

The Blessedness of Heaven. Rev. Albert Gonser . 572 

The Hope of Heaven. Rev. Wm. H. Nanders . 575 

Our Heavenly Inheritance. Rev. J. H. Lippard . 578 

The Place Where Rest May be Found. Selection . 580 

My Angel Name. Selection . 580 

No Tears in Heaven. Rev. J. V. Lerch ... 582 

No Night in Heaven. Rev. D. J. Greenwald .... ... — 585 

Thoughts of Heaven. Selection . 587 

The Employments of Heaven. Rev. Robt. F. Oplinger . 588 

The Inhabitants of Heaven. Rev. E. P. Herbruck . 590 

Heavenly Mansions. Rev. L. B. L. Lahr . 593 

Heavenly Recognition. Rev. H. Shumaker . 596 

I Shall be Satisfied. Selection . 599 

Shall we Know Each Other There? Selection . 600 

Man as Redeemed and Perfected in Heaven. Rev. L. M. Kerschner . 601 

No Sects in Heaven. Selection ... 602 

Veiled Angels. Selection . 605 

The Attractions of Heaven. Rev. William Smith. . 606 

Not Half Has Ever Been Told. Selection . 909 

Jerusalem, the Heavenly City. Rev. A. H. Leiss . . 610 

Our First Impression on Entering Heaven. Rev. Geo. W. Williard, D. D . 613 

The Heavenly Rest. Selection . .. .616 

Kings and Priests Unto God. Rev. Geo. W. Williard, D. D.617 

Rest in Heaven. Rev. M. Loucks . 619 

Bringing Our Sheaves With Us. Rev. G. W. H. Smith . 621 

Children in Heaven. Rev. E. R. Williard . . 624 

The Angels. Rev. Geo. W. Williard, D. D . 629 

Will There be Distinctions and Gradations in Heaven? Rev. Geo. W. Wil¬ 
liard, D. D . 632 

Heaven a Place Where all will be Right. Rev. E. Herbruck . . 634 

Heaven Our Everlasting Home. Rev. C. F. Kriete . 638 

Pre-eminence of Christ in Heaven. Rev. Geo. W. Williard, D. D . 641 

Friends in Heaven. Selection .■. 643 

A Home in Heaven. Selection ... 643 

The Life Everlasting. Rev. Geo. W. Williard, D. D. 645 


































































THE BEING AND CHARACTER OF GOD. 



REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


HE BIBLE no where attempts to prove the 
existence of God, but assumes it as an acknowl¬ 
edged truth, beginning as it does with the grand 
and sublime declaration that In the beginning 
God created the heavens and the earth . The 
reason why it does this, arises most likely from 
the fact that there was no necessity of any 
formal proof as the mind recognizes, and admits 
the existence of God, as the absolute ground 
of all things as soon as he is made known to 

us, it being one of those self-evident truths, 

which need only to be stated in order that 
they may be believed. 

Constituted as we are, it is natural for all men to believe in 
God, who is very nigh each one of us, so that we need not go 

in search of him, as though he were hard to find. All that is 

necessary to awaken the idea of God in us is the natural, and 
normal development of our nature. This being done, belief 
in God, becomes as natural and inevitable, as that the plant 
will be evolved from the germ when the proper conditions are 
present. It has therefore beennvell said that u as soon as man 
becomes conscious of himself, as distinct from all other things 
and persons, he at the same time becomes conscious of a 
higher self, a power without which he feels that neither he, 
nor anything else would have any life or reality.” 

No man is born an atheist, and if he becomes such it is by 
some artifice or sophistry by which his nature becomes so per¬ 
verted, that the light which is in him is so obscured that he is 
incapable of forming a right judgment in the case. Go 
wherever you will, whether among the most enlightened, or 
ignorant portions of mankind, you will every where find men, 
















12 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


if they have come to any clear consciousness, believers in some 
supreme Being, so that it has become a generally admitted truth 
that man must ham a God. And if ignorant of the God of the 
Bible, his nature will impel him to make for himself gods of 
wood and stone, to which he will pay his homage and adora¬ 
tion. 

If we inquire into our origin and preservation, whence we 
are, and how we continue to exist, we are naturally driven to 
the conclusion, that there must be a Being absolute and 
supreme. For we are all conscious of the fact that we neither 
exist, nor continue to exist by any power in and of ourselves, 
and that if we were left to ourselves we would instantly cease 
to be. We are also equally certain, that the power by which 
we are, and continue to be, does not lie in matter under any 
of its diversified forms, inasmuch as matter is impersonal, life¬ 
less and subject to constant change, and is itself dependent 
upon something else for its existence. How now are we to 
account for our origin, and continued existence from day to 
day? To say as the atheist does, that it is all the result of cer¬ 
tain laws that are fixed and, therefore, operate uniformly 
throughout the universe explains nothing, as laws do not origin¬ 
ate themselves, and always presuppose a law-giver. .Seeing* 
therefore, that everything in and around us is perishing, and is 
dependent upon something else for its being and continued 
existence, reason would suggest that there is, and must be a 
God such as the Bible reveals, self-existent and eternal, the 
Creator and Preserver of all things. 

The proofs of the existence of God are so many and varied, 
so strong and irresistible, that it would almost seem as unneces¬ 
sary to attempt to demonstrate it, as it would be to prove to a 
son that he had a father. For if there be no God then we are 
poor orphan children, having no one to whom we can look for 
support, and protection in the hour of need and peril. 

In this aspect of the subject, there was just reason for the 
severe and caustic reproof, which an aged Christian man once 
gave a young and self-conceited infidel, who was making him¬ 
self very conspicuous in giving expression to his atheistic sen¬ 
timents, when he said to him: -‘Young man, I think I have 
read of jmu before, which led him to inquire when and where 
it was, thinking it might be a compliment to his learning and 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


13 

position, to which the old man very gravely replied: In that 
Book, called the Bible, about which you have so much to say, 
in the 14th Psalm and first verse I read, “ The fool hath said 
in his heart there is no God.” 

And although men of perverse minds may, as they have 
often done, try to persuade themselves that the idea of God is 
a delusion, a guess, a relic of superstition, it will in spite of all 
their efforts to suppress and eleminate it from their thoughts, 
intrude itself upon them in the hours of calm and sober 
reflection. God can neither be ruled out of the world, nor out 
of the minds of men. 

Prince Bismarck has very forcibly said: “A people that gives 
up its God is like a government that gives up its territory, it 
is a lost people.” Equally forcible is the remark of Washing¬ 
ton, whose opinion is acceptable upon any subject, in that he 
said: “It is impossible to govern the world without God. He 
must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than 
wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his 
obligation.” 

The conclusion then to which we come, is that there is a 
God, absolute and supreme, the maker and upholder of all 
things. “The poor call upon him, the dying invoke his name, 
the wicked fear him, the good bless him, kings give him their 
crowns to wear, armies place him at the head of their battal¬ 
ions, victory renders thanksgiving to him, defeat seeks help 
from him, nations arm themselves with him against these 
tyrants; there is neither place nor time, nor circumstance, nor 
sentiment in which God does not appear, and is not named.” 
All nations have built temples for him, and worship at his 
shrine. They pray to him, sing his praise, and rejoice in the 
smiles of his countenance. 

If we admit the being of God, as he is revealed in the Bible, 
we have in him a satisfactory explanation of the phenomena 
of the universe,—a cause adequate to every thing that exists. 
If we deny his being the universe becomes a riddle, a mystery, 
which no one can solve. The atheist can account for nothing 
satisfactorily; he can not tell whence he came, or whither he is 
going; he does not know if the world had a beginning, if it is 
eternal, or if it will have an end; he speaks of motion without 
.a mover, of design without a designer, of law without a law- 


14 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


giver, and of moral distinctions without a moral intelligence. 
He can give no explanation why it is that all men do now, 
and always have believed in a Supreme Being; he is surround¬ 
ed on all sides by inextricable difficulties and contradictions, 
and can take no comfort to himself amid the trials and per¬ 
plexities of life. A doctrine so cheerless and unsatisfactory' 
should have no one to advocate it, when the opposite has so- 
much to commend it. 


PROOF OF THE BEING OF GOD FROM GEOLOGY. 


REV. R. GOOD, A. M., TIFFIN, 0. 



UCH HAS been said and written of late upon the 
conflict between Science and Religion. Some, 
indeed, have got the idea that the study of the 
former is inimical to our faith in the Word of God. 
It is true there are differences of opinion on this 
subject. These are due, however, not to any real- 
conflict, but to our imperfect knowledge, both of 
the Bible, and the Science, whose teaching seems 
to be in conflict with it. There cannot be any real conflict, 
inasmuch as the Author of the Bible is the Author of Nature. 
God has revealed himself in the latter no less than in the 
former. “The heavens declare the glory of God: and the 
firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth 
speech and night unto night sheweth knowledge.” 

Among the sciences, none, perhaps, has created more confu¬ 
sion in the minds of many, than that of Geology. This is one 
of the youngest, but not the least in interest and instruction. 
If properly studied, instead of misleading us, it actually con¬ 
firms our f aith in that remarkable account of the creation, 
which is given in the book of Genesis. 

Geology does not profess to account for the origin of matter, 
or of the Earth as a planet. It simply endeavors to show how 












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THE BEING OF GOD. 


15 

the crust of the Earth was formed; how from time to time it 
was changed, in the structure and character of its material, 
from one form of rock to another; how one kind of plant and 
animal life after another made its appearance ; and how the 
Earth was finally prepared and made ready for the abode of 
man, the crowning work and glory of creation. 

In examining the outer 1 portion of the globe we generally 
find the earthy material arranged in layers. It can easily be 
shown how these strata were produced by various agencies, 
especially water. By the eroding and transporting action of 
the latter, the mineral substances were reduced, conveyed 
from one place to another, and deposited in layers. In these 
deposits we find occasionally a shell, the impression of a fern 
leaf, or the skeleton of an animal, which must once have been 
living beings, and dying, were buried with the earthy material. 
These buried objects tell a wondrous story. They tell us that 
at one time, in the remote past, only the lowest forms of life 
existed: probably only sea weeds and the lowest forms of 
marine life. The oldest stratified rocks are full of shells, 
coral and crinoids, and hence called the Age of Mollusks. 

After this we have the Age of Fishes. In addition to the 
mollusks and coral of the preceding period, we find a variety 
of vertebrated animals. They are, however, not exactly like the 
fishes of. the present day, for they partake somewhat of the 
character of the reptile in structure. In size, variety, and 
number, they surpass that of any other period of the world’s 
history. 

With the increase of dry land came a great variety of plant 
life. There were vast marshes. The air was moist and warm. 
The rich and abundant vegetation existed for a long time, and 
its accumulation, buried for ages, we now dig up as coal, and 
derive from it the heat so necessary for our comfort in winter. 
Thus was the heat of the sunbeam stored up for man’s use in 
after years, when the earth and atmosphere would become 
cooler. 

After the Age of Plant Life, comes that of Keptiles. The 
sea, the land, and the air swarmed with a yariety of this 
kind of life. Never in the history of the Earth did this class 
reach so high a point in number, in size, in variety of form, 
and in scale of organization. 


16 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


With a diminution of reptilian life, the Age of Mammals 
was ushered in. This may be termed modern life, for the 
type of life is very similar to that we now see around us. 
The present aspect of the forest now commences. Reptiles 
are less numerous and take a subordinate position. The sea 
has its sharks and great whales, the land its mammalian quad¬ 
rupeds, the air its birds and bats. But brute force predom¬ 
inates. The Earth is not yet ready to be occupied by man, in 
consequence of this predominance of animal life, which pre¬ 
vailed in all parts of the world, from the tropics to the poles. 
Nor is the soil as yet fitted for the production of the most 
important food-plants of man and the higher animals. It is 
necessary that a great change should take place on the face of 
the Earth, at least in the higher latitudes. Immense glaciers 
formed here, and moving southward, ground and distributed 
the abraded material, so as to form the best soil for the culture 
of those cereals, which now constitute the chief food of man. 

Thus was brought about, during long periods, (which are 
very similar to the days mentioned in the book of Genesis) 
those various changes in land and sea, in air and water, in soil 
and climate, in vegetable and animal life, which fitted the 
Earth finally for the abode of man. 

The Earth, we are told, came forth out of chaos. Darkness 
was before the light. The evening was first, then the morning. 
Brighter and brighter dawned the day. Higher and higher 
forms of life appear upon the earth, until finally man steps 
upon the arena, by the creative fiat of the Almighty, u to have 
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, 
and over the cattle, and over every creeping thing that creepeth 
upon the earth.” 

Who can not see in this progress of life from the lowest to 
the highest, in these marvelous changes of the Earth from 
crude matter into all the various forms of animated nature, in 
this adaptation of means to an end, the hand of the Divine 
Architect, who planned and fashioned all according to infinite 
wisdom ? 

In the creation of the Earth and its inhabitants, as the 
master-piece of God’s workmanship, we have laid open to us a 
book no less marvelous and instructive than that of the Bible 
itself. In it we find a record and manifestation of the plan 


THE BEING OF GOI). 


17 

which was in the mind of the Infinite, according to which the 
Earth was made to pass through its various stages. It reveals 
to us that man was had in view from the very beginning, and 
that with his appearance culminated and ended the work of 
creation. 

The prophesy concerning him, which we find in all the pre¬ 
ceding ages, was uttered in the sighing of the wind, in the 
dash of the wave upon the rock, in the uplift of the mountains, 
in the extended marshy plains, in the creeping, creaking, 
grinding movements of the glacier, and in the life of all 
animated nature. 

At last the prophesy was fulfilled, when God said, “Let us 
make man in our own image after our own likeness.” With 
the advent of man came a new, spiritual life. Inert matter 
was but the evening compared to the world of organic life. 
The vegetable came first, then the brighter dawn of animal 
life. But what is animal life, compared to the infinitely 
grander life of man—a being in some mysterious way linked 
to the Deity himself,—a life commencing in time but com¬ 
mensurate with eternity ? 

To suppose now that all these changes in the crust of the 
earth to which we have referred, occurred by chance, or were 
the result of the mere forces or laws of nature, independent 
of Deity, requires a credulity which few persons are willing to 
exercise. Hence we infer that the science of geology, when 
rightly considered, furnishes a strong proof of the Divine 
existence. 


PROOFS OF THE BEING OF GOD FROM NATURE. 



REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


such were the original elements 


OW THE world was made, or what were the 
original constituents of which it is composed, 
we know not. Here the philosopher and peasant 
are both at their wits end. Some suppose that 
the matter out of which the world was made 
existed originally as star dust, or in the form of 
atoms, monads, molecules, &c., without defin¬ 
ing what they were. But granting that 
from which the world has 
sprung, they must have been, as all matter is in its simple 
state, lifeless, motionless, powerless, without feeling and con¬ 
sciousness. If left to themselves, admitting they had the 
power to move, either of themselves, or by an energy commu¬ 
nicated to them, the wonder is how these atoms happened to 
unite and coalesce in the orderly and beneficent way in which 
they have. If there was no intelligent power moving and 
directing them, there is no reason why they might not as 
readily have been formed into destructive engines and creatures 
that would have been so opposed to each other as to be at con¬ 
stant war. If chance, or blind force had been the only thing 
at work, the probability is, that every thing produced in this 
way would have been incongruous and out of joint. But look¬ 
ing at the world as it is, we see a grand and glorious unity, a 
harmonious whole, where everything has been so arranged 
and f ormed as to make it a fit habitation for man. Whence 
now this order, the life of plants, the instinct of animals, and the 
reason and conscience of man ? That all this should be 
evolved out of the original molecules of which the world was 
made under the operation of chance, is what no rational man 
can believe. 

Besides in looking at the world we see there is a constant 
and ceaseless change. There is a perpetual genesis, growth 
and decay of things—nothing is motionless. The earth is con¬ 
stantly turning on its axis and rotating around the sun; plants 











THE BEING OF GOD. 


19 


are evolved from germs, live, grow, and perish; animals and 
men are born into the world, and after a few years they sicken 
and die; the seasons come and go. And yet in the midst of 
all this stir and bustle every thing moves on as quietly and 
orderly as the motions of a clock. Every thing knows its 
appointed time, and fulfills its mission. To what now are we 
to attribute these mighty results? Are they the effects of 
chance, the operation of the blind laws of nature, or is it the 
almighty and everywhere present power of God, which, after 
it had created all things, is now guiding and directing them in 
their appointed way ? 

Every thing throughout the vast universe exhibits design 
and adaptation. Nothing stands alone, or is complete in itself, 
which reveals thought as well as force. “The thought includes 
the origination of the forces and their laws, as well as their 
combination and use. These thoughts must relate to the 
whole universe. If so, it follows that the universe is control¬ 
led by a single thought, and is the thought of an individual 
thinker. If gravitation every where prevails, and gravitation 
is a thought, as well as a thing, then the universe, so far as it 
depends on and is affected by gravitation, is a single thought. 
But a thought implies a thinking agent, and if the universe is 
a single thought, it was thought by one thinking agent. That 
this thinking person should be self-existent, involves no greater 
mystery than a self-existent thing or system of things.” 

It was in view of the logical conclusion from arguments 
such as the above, that Lord Bacon said, U I had rather 
believe all the fables in the Talmud and Alcoran, than that 
this universal frame is without a mind. God never wrought a 
miracle to convert an atheist, because his works confute 
atheism.” 


T HERE is a God,” all nature speaks, 

Thro’ earth and air, and seas, and skies; 
See, from the clouds, his gloiy breaks, 
When the first beams of morning rise. 

The rising sun, serenely bright, 

O’er the wide world’s extended frame, 
Inscribes in characters of light, 

His mighty Maker’s glorious name. 


20 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


The flow’ry tribes all blooming rise 
Above the weak attempts of art; 

The smallest worms, the meanest flies, 
Speak sweet conviction to the heart. 

Ye curious minds who roam abroad, 
And trace creation’s wonders o’er, 
Confess the footsteps of your God, 

Bow down before him, and adore. 


PROOF OF THE BEING OF GOD FROM OUR 
MORAL NATURE. 



AN FINDS himself with a religious nature, the 
spontaneous and normal exercise of which is 
reverence, adoration, obedience to a Power 
above himself. As is the case with all other 
parts of his nature, these are not purposeless. 
They prompt to the investigation of that which 
they demand, and to which they are related— 
truths about God in the universe of mind and 
of matter discovered, certified, reduced to 
s.ystem, rendered into theology. These truths 
are those of the divine personality. His character, his deal¬ 
ings, especially with man, endowed with a nature which craves 
to know and honor him. Why should man refuse to seek 
God here as well as elsewhere ? Is it the really scientific spirit 
which dictates such a course? Is it not mere caprice not only 
to decline investigation of these phenomena objective to the 
religious nature, and demanded by it; but to insist before hand 
that such investigation, if made, is not and cannot be scien¬ 
tific? Such a course, in reference to anything but religious 
truth, would not for an instant be tolerated. But here we are 
met by the objection of mystery. What is its pertinence? 
It is never offered in connection with other sciences. They all 
involve mystery, rest upon it, and are surrounded by it. What 









THE BEING OF GOD. 


21 

is matter? What is life? What' is mind? What is spirit?' 
Omnia exeunt in mysterium. No one on the score of mystery 
declines scientific investigation, or denies its possibility in any. 
of these spheres of knowledge. It is only as men see, or fear 
that they will encounter God in his claims, that such objections 
are offered. They do not like to retain God in their knowledge 
and thus the effort is to make out that he cannot be known. 

— Walker. 


WITHOUT GOD THERE CAN BE NO MORALITY. 



HAT WHICH we call morality is grounded on 
the being and governorship of the Almighty. 
In him the source of righteousness is recognized 
SI and from him is derived its sanction. Right and 
wrong were meaningless terms, were it not that 
they represent eternal and necessary distinct¬ 
ions, which even the Infinite cannot abrogate,, 
and accountability would be to all intents and 
purposes fiction, were it not that he lives and 
reigns. Obligation is only another word for 
theism; for it involves theism and is inseparable from it. 
Doubtless it is possible for some men who have been reared 
in an atmosphere of Christian faith and who have received from 
pious parents correct principles of conduct, to live upright 
lives; but it cannot be shown that a community, entirely 
ignorant of religion and its sacred influence, and fully con¬ 
vinced of the certainty of atheism, would be able to derive 
from it adequate motives to virtue, or would even be able to 
believe in virtue at all. Why should Plato have banished all 
atheists from his ideal republic, and why was Cicero so intent 
against them? Perhaps Voltaire may help us to a satisfactory 
reply. In his Philosophical Dictionary he says with much 
pungency, “I would not wish to come in the way of an athe¬ 
istical prince, whose interest it should be to have me pounded 
in a mortar. I am quite sure I should be so pounded. Were 
I a sovereign, I would not have to do with atheistical countries,. 













22 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


whose interest it was to poison me; I should be under the 
necessity of taking an antidote every day. It is, then abso¬ 
lutely necessary for princes and people, that the idea of a 
Sovereign Being,- creating, governing and rewarding and 
punishing, be engraven on their minds.” That is, he believed, 
as did both Plato and Cicero, that the well-being of society 
depends on morality, and morality on God; and that, there¬ 
fore, they who deny his existence will be far from feeling 
that sense of obligation, which would make them honest 
rulers, or useful, or worthy citizens. This seems to have been 
the judgment of antiquity—a judgment repeated by the best 
minds of modern times* and a judgment more than ratified by 
those brief, disastrous periods, and by those unhappy cities in 
which atheism has held temporary sway. 

Morality is the source and inspiration of progress; it 
quickens and purities genius and industry; it stimulates and 
encourages thought and endeavor. The countries where 
science and art have flourished are those which have adhered 
most firmly to its principles, and have traced them most 
uniformly to an Invisible Source. What discovery, what great 
enterprise, what beneficent revolution, what enlarged benevo¬ 
lence, what victory for freedom, what achievement for art is 
due to the influence of atheism? Has it delivered the captive, 
rescued the fallen, lifted up the oppressed, strengthened the 
weak, defended the helpless? No, its record is unhonored 
with accounts of such deeds. It is a melancholy and disagree¬ 
able blank. Never has it dven to the world a Plato, a Coper¬ 
nicus, a Galileo, a Bacon, a Milton, an Angelo, a Wilberforce, 
or any other great name entitled to rank with the benefactors 
of mankind. It has actually done nothing to advance the well¬ 
being of humanity; and yet it has in these last days the 
effrontery to represent itself as sufficiently beneficent to be the 
real and only Messiah. May we be saved from its millenium, 
for it bears likeness to its past history, the wilderness and 
solitary places will only be more solitary and the blossoming 
rose will return to desert dreariness.— Lorimer. 


DERZH’A YEN’S “ODE TO GOD.” 


[The author of this ode was a Russian, horn in 1763. After serving some time in the 
army he was made successively a councilor of state, embassador of Senate, president 
of the College of Commerce, and, in 1802, minister of justice. The poem has been 
translated into Japanese by order of the emperor, and is hung up, embroidered with 
gold, in the Temple of Jeddo. It has also been translated into the Chinese and Tartar 
languages, written on a piece of rich silk, and suspended in the Imperial Palace 
•of Pekin.] 

0 THOU Eternal One ! whose presence bright 
All space doth occupy—all motion guide : 

Unchanged through Time’s all-devasting flight, 

Thou only God! There is no God besides. 

Being above all beings! Mighty One! 

Whom none can comprehend, and none explore; 

Who fill’st existence with thyself alone ; 

Embracing all—supporting—ruling o’er— 

Being whom we call God, and know no more! 

In its sublime research, Philosophy 

May measure out the ocean deep—may count 
The sands or sun’s rays; but, God ! for thee 
There is no weight or measure; none can mount 
Up to thy mysteries. Reason’s brightest spark 
Though kindled by thy light, in vain would try 
To trace thy counsels, infinite and dark; 

And thought is lost ere thought can soar so high, 

E’en like past moments in eternity. 

Thou from primeval nothingness didst call 
First chaos, then existence. Lord, on thee 
Eternity had its foundation; all 

Sprung forth from thee ; of light, joy, harmony, 

Sole origin—all life, all beauty, thine. 

Thy word created all, and doth create; 

Thy splendor fills all space with rays divine; 

Thou art, and wert and shall be glorious, great! 

Life-giving, life sustaining Potentate. 

Thy chains the unmeasured universe surround, 

Upheld by thee, by thee inspired by breath! 

Thou the beginning with the end hath bound, 

And beautifully mingled life and death! 



24 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


As sparks mount upward from the fiery blaze, 

So suns are born, so worlds spring forth from thee! 
And as the spangles in the sunny rays 
Shine round the silver snow, the pageantry 
Of heaven’s bright army glitters in thy praise ! 

A million torches, lighted by thy hand, 

Wander unwearied through the blue abyss; 

They own thy power, accomplish thy command, 

All gay with light, all eloquent with bliss. 

What shall we call them ? Piles of crystal light? 

A glorious company of golden streams? 

Lamps of celestial ether burning bright? 

Suns lighting systems with their joyous beams? 

P>ut thou to these art as the moon to night. 

Yet as a drop of w’ater in the sea, 

All this magnificence in thee is lost; , 

What are ten thousand worlds compared to thee? 

And what am I, then? Heaven’s unnumbered host, 
Though multiplied by myriads, and arrayed 
In all the glory of sublimest thought, 

Is but an atom in the balance, weighed 
Against thy greatness—is a cipher brought 
Against infinity! What am I, then ? Naught. 

Naught! But the effulgence of thy light divine, 
Pervading worlds, hath reached my bosom, too; 
Yes, in my spirit doth thy Spirit shine, 

As shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew. 

Naught! But I live, and on Hope’s pinions fly 
Eager toward thy presence ; for in thee 
I live, and breathe, and dwell; aspiring high, 

E’en to the throne of thy divinity ! 

I am, 0 God, and surely thou must be! 

Thou art; directing, guiding all, thou art! 

Direct my understanding, then, to thee; 

Control my spirit, guide my wandering heart; 

Though but an atom ’midst immensity, 

Still, I am something fashioned by thy hand ; 

I hold a middle rank, ’twixt heaven and earth, 

On the last verge of mortal being stand 
Close to the realms where angels have their birth, 
Just On the boundaries of the spirit land ! 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


25 


The chain of being is complete in me; 

In me is matter’s last gradation lost, 

And the next step is Spirit-Deity ! 

I can command the lightning, and am dust; 

A monarch and a slave; a worm, a god. 

Whence came I here, and how? So marvelously 
Constructed and conceived—unknown. This clod 
Lives surely through some higher energy; 

For from itself alone it could not be. 


Creator! Yes! Thy wisdom and thy word 
Created me ! Thou source of life and good; 
Thou Spirit of my spirit, and my Lord; 

Thy light, thy love, in their bright plenitude, 
Filled me with an immortal soul to spring 
Over the abyss of Death, and bade it wear 
The garments of eternal day, and wing 

Its heavenly flight beyond this little sphere 
E’en to its source—to thee, its Author—there. 


O thought ineffable ! O visions blest! 

(Though worthless our conceptions all of thee) 
Yet shall thy shadowed image fill my breast, 
And waft its homage to thy Deity. 

God! thus alone my lowly thoughts can soar; 
Thus seek thy presence, Being wise and good! 
’Midst thy vast works, admire, obey, adore, 

And when the tongue is eloquent no more, 

The soul shall speak in tears of gratitude. 



*_> 

O 


THE CHARACTER OF GOD. 



REV. GEO. W. WILLI ARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


ANY AND various have been the answers given to 
the question, Who and what is Godf This is not 
to be wondered at, as the question is difficult to 
answer, and has many aspects in which it may be 
^viewed. When the Westminister divines met to 
compose their conf ession of Faith, we are told they 
had much difficulty to formulate an answer to the 
question, What is God. After repeated failures, Gilespie, one 
of the commissioners from Scotland, proposed that they should 
seek divine guidance, whereupon he was requested to lead the 
assembly in prayer, which he did in the following language, 0 
God , who art a spirit , infinite, eternal , and unchangeable in 
thy Being , Wisdom , Power , Holiness , Justice , Goodness and 
Truth , which was regarded by the commissioners as a fit 
answer to the question, and was thus formulated. 

Taking this as an answer to the question. What is God , we 
are struck with its comprehensiveness, including as it does the 
attributes of .spirituality, infinity, eternity, immutability, 
wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. A being 
possessed of such perfections must have all conceivable excel¬ 
lence, and be an object worthy of adoration and worship. 

As thus viewed how different, and how transcendently 
superior is the God of the Bible to the gods of the different 
nations, such as Baal, Moloch, Jupiter, Bachus, Brahma, 
Vishnu, &c. Any one acquainted with heathen mythology 
knows that their gods were material, having the form of men, 
animals, reptiles and inanimate things, thus changing the glory 
of the incorruptible God into images, and that they were 
guilty of the most shocking crimes and barbarities, making it 
impossible for men of intelligence and refinement to worship 
them. It is different, however, with the God whom we adore, 
who is revealed to us as a mercif ul and gracious Being, recon¬ 
ciling the world unto himself through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
and, at the same time, comforting and consoling all who put 
their trust in him, with the sympathy and affection of a loving 
Father. 






THE BEING OF GOD. 


27 


As it is by revelation that we obtain a knowledge of God, 
we must go to the Bible if we would get an answer to the 
question who and what he is. Men not blessed with a divine 
revelation have not in a single instance been able to form correct 
ideas of God. They have felt after him, if haply they might 
find him, and although he has been very nigh them all the 
time, giving them food and raiment, life and all its comforts, 
they have still groped their way in darkness, without knowing 
from whom they have received the good and perfect gifts 
they have enjoyed. How thankful we should be for the light 
that has been shed upon our pathway, so that we do not only 
know there is a God, but that he is possessed of every possible 
perfection, and is at the same time the Father of us all, 
‘‘upholding and governing heaven, earth, and all creatures, so 
that herbs and grass, rain and draught, fruitful and barren 
years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, 
yea all things come not by chance, but by his fatherly hand.” 

Following, therefore, the teaching of the Bible we may say 
in answer to the question who and what is God, that he is the 
Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, long suffering and 
abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, 
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by 
no means clear the guilty—that he is the Creator and Pre¬ 
server of all things—the Judge of all the earth—a merciful 
and loving Father, whose compassion exceeds that of his 
creatures as much as the heavens are higher than the earth— 
that he is a spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and truth 
—that he is the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only 
wise God, to whom honor and glory belong for ever and ever, 
and that he is a consuming fire to the wicked and incorrigible 
whom he will at last cast into everlasting destruction, with all 
the nations that forget him, and violate his law. 

A being such as God is, must be possessed of the highest 
moral perfection and excellence, and will render to every man 
according to his deeds ; to them who by patient continuance 
in well-doing seek for honor and immortality, eternal life; 
but to them that are contentious and obey not the truth, but 
obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and 
anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil. 


28 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


ODE ON GOD. 


The following Ode on God by the distinguished Persian poet and thinker Jellaled- 
deen, which we take from Bunsen’s great work, God in History, will be read with 
interest as a literary curiosity of the 13th century, notwithstanding its decided pan¬ 
theistic bearing. 

• I am the sunbeam’s dancing mote, I am the sun’s vast ball; 

The mote abides, the sun departs, obedient to my call. 

I am the whispering of the leaves, the booming of the wave; 

I am the morning’s joyous gleam, the evening’s darksome pall. 

I am the mast and rudder, the helmsman and the ship; 

I am the rock that wrecks it, reared by coral-insects small. 

I am the snarer of the bird, I am the bird and net; 

I am the image and the glass, the voice and echo’s call. 

I am the tongue and all it tells, silence I am, and thought; 

The tree of life, the parrot perched upon its summit tall. 

I am the sparkle in the flint, the gold gleam in the ore; 

Breath in the flute, the soul in man, the preciousness in all. 

I am the spirit of the grape, the winepress and its juice; 

The guest, the host, the crystal cup that shineth in his hall. 

I am. the rose, the nightingale enraptured with its scent; 

The taper and the circling moth it holds in fatal thrall. 

I am the sickness and the leech, the bane and antidote; 

I am the bitter and the sweet, the honey and the gall. 

I am both war and peace, I am the victor and the strife; 

The town and its defender, the assailant and the wall. 

I am the brick, the mortar, the builder and his plan, 

The ground-work and the roof tree, the building and its fall. 

I am the lion and the stag, I am the wolf and lamb, 

The herdsman who enfolds his flock within one spacious stall. 

I am the chain of living things, the ring that binds the worlds, 
Creation’s ladder, and the foot that mounts it but to fall. 

I am what is, and is not. I am, if thou dost know it, 

Say it, 0 Jellaleddeen! I am the soul in All. 



THE CHARACTER OF GOD IN THE LIGHT 
OF ASTRONOMY. 


PROF. C. HORNUNG, A. M., TIFFIN, 0. 


LL NATURE proclaims the existence of its Maker, 
and bears the stamp of his character. Every one 
of the physical sciences, and especially the oldest 
of them all—Astronomy—demonstrates not only 
that there is a Great First Cause, but that he is 
possessed of certain attributes, among which are 
unity , power , and wisdom. Science declares that 
this Great First Cause is that he is alone in the creation and 
government of the universe, that he is infinitely powerful , 
and infinitely wise. It does not declare his name—it knows 
him only by his attributes; but search the universe, choose 
the fairest and best from the divinest mythologies, invade the 
councils of the gods themselves, in your search, and you will 
find none but the God of Revelation strong enough to take 
upon himself such attributes, as his works reveal to the 
student of nature. 

Assuming the existence of God, let us briefly see how we 
arrive at a knowledge of his character: 

That there is not a multitude of creators, and upholders of 
creation, but that God is the only Sovereign—that he is alone 
in the government of the universe—in short, the unity of 
God, appears, first, from the fact that the same uniform laws 
control matter and motion everywhere—on the earth, at the 
moon, at the planets, and even in the regions of the incon¬ 
ceivably distant “ fixed ” stars. The same force that causes 
the stone to f all, holds the moon in her orbit, causes the earth, 
and all the planets, with their satellites, to revolve around the 
sun; the same force causes the sun, with all his retinue of 
planets, satellites, comets, and meteor zones, to pursue his 
course through space, around some remote, though still 
unknown centre and still the same force extends to star 
systems and clusters, and causes system to revolve around 









30 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


system, and binds cluster to cluster, still sweeping onward— 
until we grasp the grand idea that all the worlds, and systems 
of worlds, are bound by this great force to one common centre 
—the throne of the Omnipotent Ruler, around which they 
must revolve. This force, which we call gravity, acts by the 
same invariable law , whether observed in the falling stone, or 
the sweeping worlds, viz : with an intensity inversely propor¬ 
tional to the square of the acting distance. Now if a multi¬ 
plicity of gods reign, they surely reign as one. 

Secondly, the unity of God is proved by the revelations of 
the spectroscope, which shows that the matter, of which the 
universe is made, is the same wherever found. The sun is 
composed of matter similar to that with which we are f amiliar 
on the earth. It is the same in other suns as in our own, and 
the same in comets that come into the solar systems from the 
remoter depths of space. Still further proofs of the unity of 
God are found in the similar properties of light from all 
regions of space. It is reflected and refracted by the same 
invariable laws as sunlight is, whether it comes from the 
nearest, or one of the remoter stars, whether it has been on its 
way three minutes, or a thousand years. If there were a 
multitude of lords exercising dominion in the creation and 
government of the universe, there surely would be conflict 
and variance, instead of uniformity and harmony, and man 
would fall into utter intellectual confusion. Many of the 
ancient astronomers believed in one God, despite the polythe¬ 
ism that pronounced sentence of death upon them for the 
expression of such convictions. Who then can have a linger¬ 
ing doubt that there is but one Creator and Ruler of the 
universe; and who can refuse to say to him, although “He 
holdeth back the face of his throne and spreadeth his cloud 
upon it”, “Thine is the Kingdom.” 

A knowledge of the power of God may be derived from a 
contemplation of the intensity of the forces with which he has 
endowed matter. Power is displayed around us in a thousand 
ways. Expansion by heat, explosion of gunpowder and 
dynamite, and chemical affinity in a hundred other forms, are 
all resistless forces; but none of these can compare with the 
power revealed to the astronomer. He tells you that he has 
weighed every planet, and knows the speed of each. He tells 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


31 


you that none but an infinite power can hold them in their 
courses, or move them with such awful speed. He tells you 
that the earth alone weighs six sextillion tons, and flies through 
space at the rate of one thousand miles per minute! What 
must be the magnitude of the force that is able to move this 
huge mass with such inconceivable speed ? Indulge yourself 
in a little calculation. A single u horse-power,” in practical 
mechanics, consists in lifting thirty-three thousand pounds 
through one foot, in one minute. To move the earth through 
one foot, in one minute, would require a force equivalent to 
four sextillion u horse-power,” or a solid phalanx of horses, 
one hundred thousand million abreast, reaching from the earth 
to the sun! Now, however overwhelming, or incomprehensi¬ 
ble these numbers may be, remember that the force required 
to hold the earth in its orbit, or to send it onward, at the rate 
of a thousand miles a minute, is but an infinitely small 
fraction of the entire force displayed among the starry hosts. 
The omnipotent arm of God guides the entire solar system in 
its onward sweep through space, and yet this system is but a 
drop in the great ocean of countless universes that circle 
around his throne. Where, then, is the fend of his power who 
u hangeth the earth upon nothing,” and whose “going forth is 
from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of 
it.” Surely, “Thine is the kingdom and the power.” 

The wisdom of the Creator is, perhaps, most strikingly dis¬ 
played in the provisions which he has made in the solar system 
against self-destruction. The wonderful adjustments in the 
times of revolution of the different planets, their masses, dis¬ 
tances, and eccentricities, and inclinations of their orbits, are 
such that the stability of the solar system is forever secure. 
The direct consequence of the force of gravity, if it were not 
for these wise adjustments, would be the destruction of the 
entire system, by the successive precipitation of every planet 
into the sun. If, for example, the times of revolution of two 
planets, that come near each other, were commensurable, so 
that they should arrive at the same points of their orbits at 
the same time, the disturbance produced by their mutual 
attraction, would constantly increase, and finally result in 
destruction. If the moon’s motion should continue to be 
accelerated, and her distance diminished indefinitely, as it has 


32 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


been for thousands of years, she would finally fall to the 
earth; but the genius of man has proved that after the lapse 
of ages, this acceleration will be converted into retardation, 
and that such is the case with all apparent irregularity of this 
kind. The system sways back and forth within eternally 
fixed limits. All the perturbations produced by gravity, were 
adjusted and calculated with infinite wisdom and omniscience. 
We admire and esteem almost god-like the sagacity displayed 
by man in the discovery of these wonderful relations, and the 
laws governing these complex motions. “The discovery of the 
law of gravitation, and its consequences,” says a distinguished 
authority, “is the most wonderful effort of logical power of 
which the human mind has ever been capable”; but what is 
even this wonderful stretch of intellectual power compared 
with the wisdom of him who has calculated the perturbation, 
not alone of the few planets of the solar system, but of all the 
circling worlds in the universe, who has weighed them all, 
placed them in their orbits, and sent them on their way, with 
infinite intelligence and design. “Lo, these are parts of his 
ways.” “In wisdom hast thou made them all.” Verily, “Thine 
is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” 


AN ODE TO GOD. 


T HE spacious firmament on high , 

With all the blue ethereal sky, 

And spangled heav’ns a shining frame 
Their great Original proclaim : 

Th’ unwearied sun from day to day, 

Does his great Creator’s power display, 

And publishes to every land 
The work of an Almighty hand. 


Soon as the evening shades prevail, 

The moon takes up the wondrous tale, 
And nightly to the list’ning earth 
Repeats the story of her birth : 

Whilst all the stars that round her burn, 
And all the planets, in their turn, 
Confirm the tidings as they roll, 

And spread the truth from pole to pole. 





THE BEING OF GOD. 


33 


What though, in solemn silence, all 
Move round the dark terrestrial ball ? 

What tho’ no real voice nor sound 
Amid their radiant orbs be found? 

In reason’s ear they all rejoice, 

And utter forth a glorious voice, 

Forever singing, as they shine, 

“The hand that made us is divine.” 

— Addison. 


THE MYSTERY OF THE BEING AND CHARACTER 
OF GOD. 



BY J. H. GOOD, D. D. TIFFIN, 0. 


T IS a great thing to recognize the f act that the 
Trinity of God is necessarily a great mystery- 
There is also a Trinity in man, who was made in 
the image of God. For man is one , and yet there is 
in him (1) Will, (2) Intellect, and (3) Sensibility. 
In a very deep sense these three are one, and yet 
they are also three, whether you call them powers, or faculties 
or departments. The reason why the Trinity in God is neces¬ 
sarily a great mystery, is not because the orthodox doctrine is 
contradictory , or unbiblical , or irrational ; but because God 
stands so high above us, as to his nature, that although we 
may be able to apprehend him, in part at least, yet it is vain 
to assert that we can comprehend or fathom him. On this 
ground it comes to pass that many persons make great mis¬ 
takes. They wish to try to comprehend him, as they do 
empirical facts, when manifestly this must in the very nature 
of the case be impossible, in the present stage of man’s devel¬ 
opment. “Now we know in part.” It was Carlyle who made 
the cutting remark, “that Tyndal would not believe in God, 
because he could not put him in a bottle and examine him by 







34 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


chemical tests.” Men deny the Scriptural doctrine of the 
Trinity, because it cannot be set forth in terms satisfactory to 
experience. 

The Scriptural doctrine of the Trinity may be so held and 
set forth to involve Tritheism, i. e. that there are three Gods, 
or three individuals in the God-head. But this is not the 
orthodox doctrine. The theologians of all the ages have done 
their best to avoid this rock; and yet opponents are constantly 
falling into the error that this is the orthodox doctrine. But it 
is not, and never was the doctrine of the Church. Jesus 
was declared to be God, and yet he himself said “I and the 
Father are one.” This involves a unity , and hence the ortho¬ 
dox doctrine is, that there is but one God. Still there is a 
distinction between the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, for this 
among other reasons, that all are commanded to be baptized 
in this three-fold name. In order to denote this three-foldness, 
or Trinity, the Church makes use of the convenient term 
“person;” The early Church f athers used the word “ hypos¬ 
tasis .” A Latin word had to be selected and persona was 
chosen. But when we say there are three persons , we do not 
use the word person in the common or ordinary sense of the 
word. We use it as a technical word in a technical sense. It 
does not here denote an individual , as though there were 
three individuals in the God-head, for this would involve the 
error of Tritheism. But it denotes that indescribable, and to 
a great extent incomprehensible, three-foldness, that exists in 
the being of the one God. That there is, and must be such a 
three-f oldness in God, is amply proven both from Scripture 
and Philosophy. The doctrine of the Trinity sheds a wonder¬ 
ful light on the nature of God , his revelations , and his work¬ 
ing in the sphere of nature and of grace. Although the last 
of the doctrines to be fully revealed, in God’s dispensation of 
revelation, it stands as a beacon of light to give us a glimpse 
of the nature of the Eternal God. He who has not yet come 
to see this is rather to be pitied, than to be blamed. 


THE RELATION OF GOD TO THE WORLD. 



\ - 

PROF. A. S. ZERBE, PH. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


OW REMARKABLE it is to what an extent the 
hand of God is seen in the affairs of men and the 
world. Even comparatively unimportant events 
may be traced to his agency. “Are not two spar¬ 
rows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not 
fall on the ground without your Father.” He 
clothes “ the grass of the field, which to-day is, and 
to-morrow is cast into the oven.” Christ said, “God 
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and send- 
eth rain on the just and on the unjust.” 

Many people would regard it as a trite remark, but it is 
nevertheless one of great significance, that the Almighty 
makes the winds his messengers and the lightnings his minis¬ 
tering spirits. According to the revealed word, the coming 
and going of the seasons, the motion of the heavenly bodies, 
and the various productions of the earth are due to the prov¬ 
idential agency of God. Paul says that God even while suf¬ 
fering the nations “to walk in their own ways,” “left not 
himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain 
from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food 
and gladness.” These things come not by chance, but by his 
gracious and omnipresent agency. The Scriptures give us to 
understand that the tempest, and pestilence, and earthquake, 
and indeed all the more unusual appearances in nature, are 
controlled by him for some definite purpose. 

As God originally called the irrational animals into exis¬ 
tence, it is altogether natural that he should sustain them in 
being. The Psalmist says: “The young lions roar after 
their prey and seek their meat from God.” “These wait all 
upon Thee; that Thou mayest give them their meat in due 
season. That Thou givest them, they gather. Thou openest 
Thy hand, they are filled with good.” “ Behold the fowls of 
the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into 
barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.” “ He giveth 














THE BEING OF GOD. 


36 

to all life and breath and all things.” These are more than 
poetical statements, that the animal kingdom is upheld simply 
according to the laws of nature. When our Lord taught his 
disciples to say: u Give us this day our daily bread,” he did 
not utter a figure of speech, but left the inference that men 
are dependent upon a higher power for the satisfaction of 
their wants. 

The relation of God to the world is such that it includes his 
guidance in the affairs of nations. u He ruleth by his power 
forever; his eyes behold the nations; let not the rebellious 
exalt themselves.” “ The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of 
men and giveth it to whomsoever he will.” He changeth the 
times and the seasons. He removeth and setteth up kings. 
“ He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and 
among the inhabitants of the earth.” “ Shall the axe boast 
itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw 
magnify itself against him that maketh it? as if the rod 
should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the 
staff should lift up itself as though it were not wood.” The 
Bible abounds in such passages. God uses the nations to 
accomplish his purpose. 

In the economy of the world men as individuals are in the 
hand of God. It is not a matter of chance that some men are 
formed with strong minds, others with weak; some in Chris¬ 
tian, others in pagan lands; and that some are attended by 
uniform prosperity in this life, others by continual reverses. 
“The Lord killeth and maketh alive; he bringeth down to 
the grave and bringeth up. The Lord maketh poor and 
maketh rich, he bringeth low and lifteth up.” “A man’s 
heart deviseth his way; but the Lord directeth his steps.” 
The will of God exercises a controlling power in the circum¬ 
stances of men. 


THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 


REV. W. H. SHULTZ, B. S., SPRINGBORO, 0. 


HE FIRST impression the general reader of the Bible 
receives, after assuming there is a God, is, that he 
reigns, both in nature and in grace. It is a neces¬ 
sary idea in the mind of every one who wishes to 
read Scripture intelligently, and desires to be edi¬ 
fied thereby, to admit that God is not only present 
in its history, but also in its present influence. 

After the accounts we have of the creation of all things in 
the first chapter of Genesis, we have not the least intimation 
that God withdrew from his relations with man, ceasing to be 
his preserver and guide. He was not only the architect, but the 
Father likewise, and continued to communicate with Noah> 
and Abraham, and Moses, as he had done with Adam. 

AVithout such a special interest in mankind we could have 
had neither prophecy, nor miracle, nor the divine law. But 
these the race has received, showing not only God’s imma¬ 
nence, but his goodness, in providing for the necessity of his 
people. The destinies of all individuals as well as of all nations 
are under his control, and man is prosperous or adverse, by 
his permission and will. “ By me kings reign and princes 
decree justice.” 

God being the great First Cause, all secondary causes are 
dependent upon him, and all effects are either by his will, or 
permission. He has not merely enacted natural laws, but 
continually directs and controls them. He has not made a 
vessel and put it under the care of another pilot, but he rides 
upon the wings of the wind, and guides it in the storm.. 
When it is his will, he transcends natural laws, as in the case 
of miracles. Conscience accepts a Providence, and admits 
that “ in him, we live, and move, and have our being.” 

The fact of the existence of Providence will be more evi¬ 
dent when we consider its manifestations . In a general sense 
this is clearly shown in history. We can allude only to a few 
instances which may be of evidential value in this connec- 















38 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


tion. In the Old Testament we notice the deluge, and preser¬ 
vation of Noah and his family; the destruction of the “cities 
of the plain,” and escape of Lot and his daughters; the selling 
of Joseph into slavery which resulted in the salvation of Jacob 
and all his house; the Exodus of Israel, and God’s wonderful 
continued, and special care of them during the forty years of 
their wandering in the wilderness. 

In the New Testament the providence of God is not less 
apparent. The greatest conqueror this world has ever seen, 
came exactly “in the fullness of time” to deliver the world 
from sin and guilt, conquer her strongest enemy, and destroy 
the “ king of terrors.” The united wisdom of the race could 
not have contrived and executed such a perfect plan of re¬ 
demption, as was accomplished by the lowly child of Mary, on 
Calvary. The angels, the messengers of God, rejoiced in his 
presence, and accomplished his will, when enemies would set 
it aside. In the twenty-third chapter of Acts we have a 
record of the special divine f avor to one of God’s servants; in 
the thirty-seventh chapter of Job we are taught that God 
works in a way that is incomprehensible to finite man; in the 
ninety-first Psalm his protection of the righteous and their 
final triumph; in the one hundred and fourth Psalm his 
power and mercy; his earnest solicitude is shown in the para¬ 
ble of the lost sheep, and his yearning love and forgiving 
mercy in the parable of the prodigal son. 

No one, who walks by faith in God’s grace, will deny the 
advantage of such a knowledge, and trust, as the providence 
of God inspires in the Christian’s heart and life. While it 
may be a startling thought to the wicked, as the “ hand-writ¬ 
ing on the wall,” was to Belshazzar, and the death of Ananias 
and Sapphira was to all who beheld it, yet to the believing, 
next to his hope of heaven, there is no greater comfort than 
the blessed truth that God is ever near to help and sustain, to 
guide and to save. He is our shepherd, who is too wise to 
err, and too good to harm. “ Like as a father pitieth his chil¬ 
dren, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.” Lie is even 
more constant, for the Psalmist’ said, “ When my father and 
my mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.” He is a 
friend, closer than a brother. “ Lo, I am with you alway,” 
said Jesus. We have the comforter abiding within us. Such 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


39 


constancy, such faithful promises should lead us to put our 
trust in him at all times. His love and compassion ought to 
make us patient in adversity, as well as thankful in prosperity. 
It is a comfort to know that even the hairs of our heads are 
all numbered; that not one sparrow falls to the ground unno¬ 
ticed ; and that it is his pleasure to call us to partake of heav¬ 
enly joys; and even the angels rejoice when sinners are con¬ 
verted to God. What satisfactory reasons, then, has the trust¬ 
ful believer to confide in God’s providence? It is a hope that 
in afflictions and doubts wings its flight beyond this world, 
and, like an anchor, sure and steadfast, clings to God’s prom¬ 
ises. How submissive it ought to make us; how consistently 
we ought to live, as God both sees, our works and hears our 
petitions, and is able to bless, u being an Almighty God, and 
willing being a faithful Father.” 

The Psalmist says, “ He will be our guide even unto death.” 
What a blessed assurance that God who knows our every 
want, our weakness, and sees the end from the .beginning, is 
present with us strangers and pilgrims in the Earth. We are 
like the children of Israel, we have left Egypt, but we have 
not yet entered Canaan . But w T e have a better guide than 
Moses, we have a Joshua who will conduct us across the Jor¬ 
dan of death into the land of the heavenly Canaan. We can 
trust our guide, for, though we know not just what awaits us, 
as step by step we advance, yet, like Abraham, we feel that 
God is with us. He not only leads the way, but is with us, 
and speaks to us, and permits us to hold sweet intercourse by 
the way. His ear is open to all our petitions, and, like the two 
disciples on the way to Emmaus, our hearts may become aglow 
when communing with him. He is a guide that never leaves 
us, for u when my father and my mother forsake me, then the 
Lord will take me up.” If there are obstacles and dangers by 
the way, and oppositions meet us on every side, still “ Judah’s 
Lion guards the way, and guides the traveler home.” He will 
be our guide “ even unto death.” Yea, until we are safe in 
u our Father’s house ” in heaven; for, says David, u Though I 
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will tear 
no evil, for thou art with me” u I will instruct thee, and 
teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will guide thee 
with mine eye.” 


THE DUTIES WE OWE TO GOD. 



REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


HAT WE are under certain obligations to God, who 
created and preserves us, and grants us all the good 
and perfect gifts which we enjoy, is the dictate 
of reason, as well as the teaching of the Bible. As a 
son is always expected to honor his father, a subject 
his king, and a slave his master, so it is much more 
the duty of those who live, move, and have their being in God, 
to reverence and honor him. So fully, indeed, is this duty in 
accord with all our notions of the fitness of things, that men 
everywhere acknowledge it. 

What the duties are which we owe to God, although differ¬ 
ently stated, may be readily determined, and are so clearly 
and forcibly presented under the general heads of reverence, 
love, obedience and worship, in the Moral Philosophy of Dr. 
Haven, that we feel we are doing the reader a service by 
giving him the benefit of what he says, under the topics which 
have reference to the duties that spring from the heart, 

The first of which is reverence. If there is such a Being as 
God, the Creator of all, the Supreme Disposer of events, the 
righteous ruler and judge of men, and if he is what we believe 
him to be, omnipotent, omniscience, omnipresent, eternal, 
holy, just and good, surely this great and glorious Being is 
worthy of the highest reverence of the mind. The moment 
the idea of such a Being presents itself to the mind, we are 
instinctively impressed with the grandeur of the conception, 
and filled with awe as in the presence of a superior power. 
That mind must be deficient in self-respect, lacking in the 
perception of what is seemly and proper, that does not feel 
and acknowledge its obligation to bow in deepest reverence 
before the august and glorious Being, who inhabiteth eternity, 
and filleth immensity with his presence. * * * * 

The sublime aspects of nature, in so far as they express the 
majesty and power, and indicate the presence of the invisible 
One, whose breath giveth life to all creatures, and whose hand 










THE BEING OF GOD. 


41 


sustains the goodly fabric of creation, are fitted to awaken and 
call forth this emotion. The reverent mind sees God in all his 
works. * * * * 

But it is not alone in nature that God reveals himself. He 
comes nearer than this in the soul he hath made, after his own 
image. In all the fears and hopes that agitate the soul, as it 
looks forward to the future; in all its aspirations for a higher 
excellence than it has yet attained; in all the providences of 
its earthly lot; in all the utterances of the sacred oracles; in 
all the silent and holy communing of the soul with its Maker, 
—the devout mind recognizes the presence of its God, and 
adores with fear and trembling; and never is the soul of man 
more truly dignified, and exalted, than when thus bowing low, 
in the deepest reverence, before God. 

Nor is this emotion a painful one. In this respect it differs 
from fear, to which it is otherwise closely analogous. There is 
in it more love than fear. And although there is something 
awful and terrible in the object contemplated, there is, at the 
same time, an invisible attraction, that draws the spirit to it 
with admiring and adoring regard. 

This reverence belongs also, in a degree, to all that is con¬ 
nected with the name and worship of God—in a word, to all 
sacred things. The reverent mind will never allow itself to 
trifle with anything that pertains to the Divine Being. His 
name, word, ordinances and works are all sacred, and to be 
revered, whilst that which tends to desecrate the same, shocks 
the sensibility of every right mind. 

Love. It is not enough to fear God. Reverence, however 
becoming, is not the whole, nor chief duty of the heart to God, 
who is not only great, but good also, and as such should be 
loved, as well as revered. 

There is no greater evidence of the guilt and utter ruin of 
the soul, than that it should find in itself, among all its varied 
powers, and exquisite susceptibilities, no answering cord of 
grateful affection for the benefits it has received—that it 
should have a full and generous love to bestow on inferior 
objects, but no love for him, who alone is worthy of supreme 
regard. 

Love to God is the. spring of all true religion, and the foun¬ 
dation of all genuine morality. It is a duty comprehensive, 


4 


42 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


in part, of all others. It is the first and great commandment, 
comprising, within itself, all minor requirements. God also 
demands our love, and will be satisfied with nothing less, and 
deserves nothing less. Failing in this, we miss our whole 
duty. 

God has, also, formed us to love him—has so constituted us, 
that, by the very law of our being, whatever is beautiful and 
excellent, naturally wins our admiration. * * * * 

Loving and admiring his works, he would have us. in these 
and above these, love and adore him, the source of all—the 
Being in whom all loveliness, all beauty dwell. 

Our nature also inclines us to admire what is morally excel¬ 
lent, what is great and noble in character, as well as what is 
beautiful in the external world. And as he who formed us 
possesses the attributes of moral excellence, in the highest 
perfection, it is eminently fitting that we should love him with 
the whole heart, soul, mind and strength. 

And does he not richly deserve our love simply for bestow¬ 
ing upon us a nature thus fitted for infinite enjoyment? A 
single sensation of happiness, it has been well said, though it 
should continue for a moment, and terminate with that single 
moment, would be a cause for gratitude, so long as it could be 
remembered. If this be so, if the enjoyment of even a single 
sense, for a single moment, is cause for gratitude, what shall 
we say of that constant enjoyment, not of one, but of all our 
senses; not of sense merely, but of the higher intellectual 
pleasures; not of intellect merely, but of heart and soul, and 
all that fills the spiritual, moral nature with delight ; and this 
not for a single moment of existence, but through life? Does 
not the generous donor of a happiness so varied and bountiful, 
and utterly undeserved, richly merit that love which he seeks 
to draw forth from his creatures towards himself ? 


THE WORSHIP OF GOD. 



REV. J. H. GOOD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


LL NATIONS whom thou hast made shall come 
and worship before thee, 0 Lord ; and shall glorify 
thy name.” Ps. lxxxvi. 9. 

u Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him 
only shalt thou serve.” Matt. iv. 10. 

u But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true 
worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in 
truth.” John iv. 23. 

The worship of Almighty God, who made 
heaven and earth, who gave us life, and who guides and pre¬ 
serves us by his providence, and who has given us the highest 
and best of gifts, his Son to be our Savior, is both a duty and 
a privilege. 

The duty of worshiping God Hows from the exalted nature 
of God. As we understand him, from revelation and nature, he 
is an infinite and eternal Spirit, with a fulness of life, power 
and perfections, that calls forth the praises, adoration and 
worship of all rational beings. As such he stands in direct 
relation to and reveals himself to man; and presents himself 
as an object worthy of “ honor, glory and blessing ” on the part 
of men and angels. If it is a duty to respect earthly monarchs, 
magistrates, sages, parents and teachers, much more is it a 
sacred duty to reverence and worship the most perfect and 
most exalted of all beings. Hence the demand, repeated in 
such varied forms in the sacred Scriptures, that we all “should 
worship God.” He who goes through life without a thought 
of such worship, neglects one of the highest and most sacred 
'duties. 

But the worship of God should also be looked upon as a 
privilege. This flows from the exaltedness of man, who has 
been created so high in the scale of being as to have the 
capacity of worshiping God. The vegetable world, although 
it has a form of life, cannot know and worship God. The 









44 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


animal world, although it manifests considerable intelligence, 
does not stand so high as to be able to apprehend and worship 
the Supreme Being. There is no evidence or indication that 
any animal, even the most intelligent, can form any idea of 
God, or of worship towards God. In this respect man stands 
an immeasurable distance above the beast. He has a spiritual 
capacity which the animal has not, and never can have. 
There is a gulf between the two orders of being which the 
animal can never pass, and this shows the folly of those who 
maintain that man is descended from the ape. 

Man can apprehend God, and has been endowed with a 
precious gift, a capacity to “worship him in spirit and in 
truth.” So also is it with the angels, and the still higher 
order of beings. In all ages men have felt that they possessed 
this capacity and privilege. In their own dark and imperfect 
way they have sought to make use of it. There has no nation 
or tribe ever been found, in all the history of the world, where 
men have not striven to engage in some form of worship. 
This has not been a mere superstition on their part, but the 
outworking of an innate sense of our peculiar relationship to 
the God of all the earth. For we are his children. Created in 
his image, we find our true end and rest only when we find 
ourselves in a life of personal communion with him. Hence 
the descriptions of heaven are mostly descriptions of the wor¬ 
ship of those who stand in this relation to God. 

But how shall we worship ? Every one must admit that it 
is the right of God to direct, and even to prescribe the inward 
and outward mode of worship. It is far better to follow the 
indications of God’s will and revelation, than to follow our own 
notions and fancies. In the times of the patriarchs and 
Moses he indicated that his will was that this worship should 
take the form mainly of sacrifices and offerings, which were 
to be both a symbol and type of the great sacrifice and offer¬ 
ing of the Lamb of God. But after the all-sufficient sacrifice 
of Christ was made, “once for all,” then he indicated a 
change in the order and rites of worship, and gave his Holy 
Spirit to lead men into the way of truth, holiness and worship. 
All worship of idols, and false gods of every kind is strictly 
forbidden, as dishonoring to God and unworthy of man. We 
cannot be too thankful that we have been delivered from the 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


45 


idolatry of our ancestors. But our thankfulness should ex¬ 
press itself in actual worship of the true God. All mammon, 
in every form, especially in the form of covetousness, is for¬ 
bidden as only a more subtle form of idolatry. We hear the 
great apostle saying: “Mortify therefore your members 
which are upon the earth. * * * Covetousness , which is 
idolatry ” (Col. iii. 5). All worship of self is another and 
subtle form of idolatry, and fundamentally opposed to the 
principles of Christianity. 

As we search through the New Testament, ascertain God’s 
will in regard to public worship, we find that the following 
elements of worship were recognized and observed, and com¬ 
mended by the Lord and his apostles: 

Prayer. Praise and singing. Preaching of the word. Read¬ 
ing the Scriptures. Baptism. Lord’s Supper. Brotherly 
love, or the communion of church life. Alms giving. Church 
work. 


THE WORSHIP OF THE CHURCHES. 



REV. J. H. GOOD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


HE WORSHIP of God is primarily that of the 
heart. But, in all ages of the world, men have 
expressed their worship in outward forms or rites. 
We seek to follow the will of God, as gathered 
from the New Testament. The denominations 
vary considerably in their modes. Yet they all 
make use of the fundamental forms, as we find 
these observed in the early days of Christianity. 
It will be profitable to examine these a little in detail, as not 
so much depends upon the outward form , as the inward spirit, 
with which they are observed, in order to constitute a true 
worship, i. e. “a worship in spirit and in truth.” Every person 
should consider the matter, and seek to understand it, in order 
to come up to the measure of the duty, and the privilege of 
worship. There is far too much indiiference and misconcep¬ 
tion in regard to true worship. Men go to church merely to 









46 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


hear a good sermon, or, perhaps, in addition to hear some 
good singing, and imagine they have fulfilled the duty of 
worshiping God. They are mere passive recipients of what 
is dispensed from the pulpit, and fail to understand that wor¬ 
ship is an activity on the part of each person; that it cannot 
be performed by proxy, either by the minister or the choir. A 
distinguished minister lately said “that worship is one of the 
lost arts.” There is a great deal of truth in this remark, so far 
as multitudes of well-meaning people are concerned. There 
is far too little real worship in our churches. We do not 
mean that the outward forms are not observed. Nor do we 
mean that there is too small an amount of these outward 
services. But we mean, that in our assemblies for worship, a 
great many do not worship at all, but merely listen. This 
matter ought to be taken up by the pastors, and explained, so 
that the lost art of worship may again be restored, especially 
with the rising generation. And this will prove a great bless¬ 
ing, not only to the churches, but to the individuals. 

When we carefully examine the different parts of our wor¬ 
ship on the Lord’s Day, we shall see that they all fall into two 
classes, or fundamental activities. These are, (1) The Preach¬ 
ing and Hearing the Word, and (2) Prayer. 

We will examine these carefully: 

I. The Preaching and Hearing the Word. With full right 
and clearness of vision, the Protestant churches have recog¬ 
nized this as the central act of Christian worship. Christ and 
his Apostles were above all “preachers of the Word.” Now 
this preaching and hearing the Word of God, comes forward 
three times, and in three forms, in our Sunday services. 

(a) . In the form of a Sermon , where the minister exerts 
himself, so to proclaim the “Word of God” in varied and 
instructive ways, from all points of view, as to make it effec¬ 
tive in the hearts and minds of the hearers. Of course the 
worship here consists in a devout, attentive and conscientious 
hearing of the sermon. This is giving God honor and rever¬ 
ence, for it is his Divine Word that is believinglv received. 

(b) . In the form of a Bible Lesson. Here the sacred and 
inspired writers are the preachers , and we listen to the very 
words of Prophets and Apostles, preaching now to us, as they 
preached to others in generations past, the revelations of God. 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


47 

Here the worship consists in a reverent and believing recep¬ 
tion of what is read. It is a great blessing to us, that we have, 
in both English and German, such excellent translations of 
the Scriptures. Every devout person must have noticed that 
there is a charm and an unction in the language of “the men 
of old.” 

(c). In the form of Choir Singing . When a choir sings an 
anthem, or an opening or closing piece, it takes the attitude of 
preaching the Word to the worshipers. Here the worship 
consists in a reverent listening to the same, not to the music 
alone, but to its words (or contents). This is just as much a 
duty as it is to listen to the sermon or the lesson. What a 
glorious sermon it is, when, on Easter morning, the choir pro¬ 
claims, in musical form, “The Lord is risen indeed!” As a 
rule, therefore, choirs should be composed of devout and 
serious persons; and they should be trained to consider them¬ 
selves, not mere singers, giving a sort of concert, but as earnest 
persons, who “ proclaim the Word ” to the worshiping assem¬ 
bly, in order to inculcate truth, to heighten Christian emotions, 
and to spur up to a Christian life of duty. 

These three forms include all that there is, or ought to be, 
of preaching , in the ordinary services. But these should make 
up only about one-half of the worship of the occasion. The 
other half of the services are equally important , and are of a 
very different character. We designate them collectively as 
Prayer. 

II. But these exercises of Prayer are of different forms. 

(a.) There are usually two prayers , under the leadership 
of the minister. These include Adoration to God, Confession 
of Sin, Thanksgiving and Intercession. It is important to 
remember here that the minister does not pray instead of the 
worshipers, nor does he, as a Mediator, pray for them, or in 
behalf of them : but he prays simply as the leader of the 
people, voicing the thoughts of their hearts. The congregation 
must pray: every man, woman and child must pray, if there 
is to be a worship “in spirit and in truth.” This recpiires 
attention, a mental and spiritual following of the petitions of 
the leader. A double error is here very liable to arise, (1) the 
minister turns the prayer into a sermon, and in it preaches to, 
or at, the hearers; (2) the people listen to the'prayer as to a 


48 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


sermon, admire it, criticise it; but do not unite in it. It is a 
fundamental perversion , (although so common) and destroys 
all true worship to turn the prayers into preaching arts. It 
may require some effort, on the part of the worshipers, and 
in truth it does require it, to check wandering thoughts, and to 
engage heartily, intelligently and devoutly in the prayers, as 
formulated by the preacher; but it is not worship, but a mere 
empty form, if this be not done. 

(b.) Under this head belong the three Hymns or Psalms. 
These are, essentially and fundamentally, prayers , which are 
sung by the worshipers, instead of being put into words by 
the minister, and followed by the people. The model of all 
modern hymns are the Psalms of David, and these were 
prayers. The introduction of metrical tunes , especially the 
good ones of modern times, to which these beautiful prayers 
can be sung by all, is a great advance in worship, if only the 
people will pray those hymns, because they enable us, easily, 
readily, and beautifully, “to pray with one accord.” Alas, 
that the very idea of “prayer in song” is so much of a lost 
art. Alas, that the singing of the songs of Zion is so generally 
turned into a mere concert, or musical exercise, with which the 
mass of the worshipers have nothing to do but to listen to, 
and, perhaps, admire the singers. Now, in these prayers, all , 
without exception, old and young, ought to unite\ and they 
can do so. If they cannot sing, they can at any rate pray the 
prayers , and this is the chief thing. Therefore, let each one 
have a Hymnal, and as the great congregation sings (or prays), 

“Nearer, my God, to Thee, 

Nearer to Thee,” 

let each one breathe out his soul in the prayer “Nearer, my 
God, to Thee.” This will be worship. 

(c.) Under this head also belong the Invocation and Bene¬ 
diction, which are essentially prayers. Here, too, belongs the 
Giving of Alms , which in form, indeed, is an outward giving 
to the Lord’s cause, but, in substance, it should be prayer, and 
therefore consecrated and accompanied by the prayer of the 
giver. 

Cannot the “lost art of worship” be restored? For all it 
would be a blessed thing if this were done. Then the multi- 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


,49 

tudes of thankful persons would no longer go to the assemblies 
simply to hear a sermon or lecture; but they would go to 
fulfill the duty, and enjoy the privilege of worship, u in spirit 
and in truth.” 

“O come, let us worship and bow dow: 

Let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.”—Ps. xcv: 6. 


THE PRAISE OF GOD. 


REV. JOHN B. RUST, A. M., WAYNESBURG, 0. 


“Then kneeling down, to heaven’s eternal King. 

The saint, the father, and the husband prays; 

Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing, 

That thus they all shall meet in future days, 

There ever bask in uncreated rays, 

No more to sigh, or shed the bitter tear, 

Together hymning their Creator’s praise. 

In such society, yet still more dear; 

While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere.” 


ANY MEN think themselves unbound by any 
divine law, and seek to crush every remnant of a 
natural need, to worship God. You can learn from 
their vain conversation, as well as see in their 
daily conduct, that they acknowledge no allegiance 
to their Creator. If you ask them why they live 
thus, without God, and without hope in the world, 
they assign various reasons. No responsibility, it is claimed, 
rests upon man, since he is not the cause of his own existence, 
and the gift of reason plainly indicates the*right to use it. 
And then, too, they call God himself to witness that he does 
not need the worship of the creature, in the infinite perfection 
of his being. What a sad delusion and error! Viewed in one 
light, it is very cowardly to offer such excuses in palliation of 
the heinous neglect of visiting God’s house, and failing to 
engage with heartfelt love, in divine service. 












THE BEING OF GOD. 


50 , 

Reason is, indeed, a gift of God, bat its abuse is not free¬ 
dom of thought. To drag it down into the slavery of justify¬ 
ing the satisfaction of lower instinct, is not freedom of thought, 
as it only poisons reason, which is the faculty of the good, 
the true and the beautiful. It is a depraved heart out of 
which go forth all the excuses for avoiding religious influences 
and surroundings. 

Reason and conscience tell us it is wrong for any one to 
charge another with the responsibility of his existence. How 
cowardly the heart must be which suggests such a thought to 
an immortal soul! Life is not so empty a thing that it is not 
worth having. All men, good and bad, possess the instinct of 
self-preservation. Were life valueless, this instinct would not 
have been implanted within us. We would then be destitute 
of all love of life, and find it natural to seek death. On the 
contrary everything in us, if we are true to ourselves, cries out 
against the false idea that man is but the creature of a day, 
without accountability, and a destiny limited to this material 
existence. Reason, conscience and revelation, all testify to 
the truth of, and confirm the heavenborn sense of moral 
responsibility, which is the pledge of immortality, be it for 
weal or woe. 

“It must, be so ; ’tis not for self 
That we so tremble on the brink; 

And striving to o’erleap the gulf, 

Yet cling to Being’s severing link.” 

We dare not turn traitors to our own nature, which would 
be worse than insanity. And this ought to settle beyond 
question that though God, in his infinite fulness, may not need 
us, we need him, his presence, his support, his mercy and 
pardon. In the light of moral responsibility, then, it is our 
duty to praise God. “For as much then as we are the offspring 
of God we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto 
gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.” 
Thus in our creation it is proven that it is God’s will we shall 
worship and praise him, as the highest end of our being. 

Why would God send us 'his Son, as the way, the truth, the 
life, if he did not aim to acquaint us more perfectly with the 
true purpose of our existence, in order that we might attain 
the purest happiness by worshiping him in spirit and in truth ? 


THE BEING OF COD. 


51 

Our calling is a high one. If we do not obey the divine voice 
within us, then he may finally verify that scriptural warning, 
which says, u Our God is a consuming fire.” The fear of God 
is the beginning of wisdom. u Where it is implanted in the 
heart, it is the protector against sin, and acts alone when men 
cannot act. Where it is not found, the door is opened to all 
evil, to vice and blasphemy.” No Christian ought ever to 
harbor unreasonable and sinful excuses, to free himself from 
fulfilling regularly his temple duties, in bringing as often as 
he can thank-offerings to the God of his salvation. He will 
pray also that the Holy Spirit may be given him, so as to make 
his obedience an example to others, influencing them to enter 
upon a life of wisdom, that thus the worship of God may be 
perpetual. 

There is, also, another error common among men, which is 
that the praising of God is only a duty, and nothing more. 
The recollection of human weakness, awakening the thought 
of God’s kindness, in the hour of worship, when duty seems 
like a burden, will cause the heart to bound with delight, and 
increase, the yearning of thanksgiving a thousandfold. The 
opportunity of praising God is a high and gracious privilege. 

In a Christian land, blessed with all the discoveries of a pro¬ 
gressive science, the comforts of life, and the free institution 
of a great civilization, men do not realize the extent of their 
enjoyments. Even church people grow cold, proud and narrow, 
oftentimes wrongfully attributing the vast improvements and 
changes in every sphere over those of former times, to their 
own wit and wisdom, performing religious acts of acknowl¬ 
edgement to God, not from an impulse of the soul, but from a 
hereditary sense of duty. A Christian land can learn from a 
heathen people. Under the control of a national law of con¬ 
science the pagan idolater worships his gods of wood and 
stone, and uses every power known to him, in his ignorance of 
the truth, to remove his sense of guilt. Nor does he forget 
his former state of unrest, when converted to Christ. His 
acts of duty are continued, but their observance are character¬ 
ised with another spirit, so that he now regards the praise of 
God as the highest privilege of his being. In the light of the 
fall, his willful act of disobedience in the garden of Eden, 
does man hold any claim upon the divine mercy? God, if he 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


52 

had seen fit, might have hidden his face from us. He might 
have forever withheld the means of removing sin and its guilt, 
leaving us in impenetrable darkness. Even now he might, if 
such were his will, change the whole aspect of temporal affairs, 
and with swift judgement strike terror into the hearts of men. 
If God should enter into judgement with the world to-day, 
how could it answer him? Are the works of men so meritori¬ 
ous, are their moral duties so perfectly performed, are their 
souls so pure, as to make a day of righteous trial absolutely 
unnecessary or impossible? No! God is good, infinitely good, 
true and merciful, in unveiling his fatherly face to the eye of 
a living faith in his Son, that we may know and worship 
him. Our duty in the temple, around the family altar, in the 
closet, becomes the highest privilege, seeing that God is the 
author of all happiness, and ourselves not deserving the bless¬ 
ings of a Christian enlightenment, by reason of our failing to 
appreciate heaven’s highest gifts. Yet notwithstanding our 
manifold shortcomings, repeated transgressions and want of 
appreciating his mercies, we need neither fear nor hesitate to 
approach the mercy seat. He calls us, and seeks our praise 
and confidence, saying, u Come now and let us reason together ; 
though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow; and 
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” To 
this call there can be no uncertain sound. Before all the 
w T orld God has revealed his love for the fallen and oppressed, 
the weak, the weary, and heavy laden. The life, death, 
resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ are the ever increas¬ 
ing pledges of his. tenderness and mercy. His face is not hid 
behind a veil. He does not meet us with a forbidding look. 
God in Christ came to save the lost sheep of the house of 
Israel. Who can measure the hight and depth, the length and 
breadth of that spirit of pardon and adoption poured out upon 
all flesh, which, touching the hearts of men, bears witness 
with their spirits that they are the children of God, enabling 
them to cry out: Abba our Father! Oh, what a blessed reve¬ 
lation! This attitude of the divine Being towards all the 
faithful, should inspire every believing soul with the keenest 
vision of an unshaking faith, which sees with a fixed gaze the 
gates of heaven forever ajar, and follows sleeplessly the 
narrow path, leading into the very centre of the heavenly 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


53 

Jerusalem. Notwithstanding the trials of our earthly exis¬ 
tence, the life of a Christian in virtue of his hope, ought to be 
fraught with contentment and joy. “Because the disciple of 
Christ is in the world, yet not of it, but stands above its affairs 
and events—because he knows that all winds and storms must 
finally but glorify the great victory of heaven’s King in all 
creation—he is content and happy even in evil times, and 
though he be earnest, yet is he ignorant of a foreboding 
despondent mood. He looks beyond all earthly want and sees 
there a great light, and knows that in the end all, all will be 
well.” The Christian’s life is a prayer and a song. Being able 
to say in the language of the mystery of faith : I know that 
my Redeemer liveth, his delight is in the law of the Lord, and 
the praising of God his sweetest pleasure. 

“How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts. Blessed 
are they that dwell in thy house; they will be still praising 
thee.” 


PRAISING GOD IN SONG. 


REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


LL READERS of the Bible and of history know 
that the praising of God in song has been one of 
the most common and delightful employments in 
all ages of the world. No nation or people, not 
even the rudest and most barbarous, has been 
without its songs and hymns of one kind or another. 
Nor is this to be wondered at when we remember 
that long before the creation of the world, as well when its 
foundation was laid, “the morning stars sang together and all 
the sons of God shouted for joy,” and that this is, and ever 
will be one of the chief, as well as constant, employments of 
the saints in glory. 

We may suppose that our first parents, while they remained 
happy in Eden’s bowers before sin had spoiled its beauty and 
loveliness, spent much of their time in praising God in song, for 
everything around as well as in them was calculated to stir up 










54 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


their souls to gratitude and praise. Sing they must when the 
sun poured his soft and mellow light upon them, and every¬ 
thing around them was joyful and happy. Milton has beau¬ 
tifully described the worship which we may suppose they gave 
to God in their first estate when he says, 

“ Lowly they bowed, adoring, and began 
Their orisons, each morning duly paid 
In various style ; for neither various style, 

Nor holy rapture wanted they to praise 

Their Maker, in fit strains pronounced or sung 

Unmeditated ; such prompt eloquence 

Flowed from their lips, in prose, or numerous verse, 

More tunable than needed lute or harp, 

To add more sweetness.” 

If we follow the race in its history through the centuries 
down to the present time we will find that nothing has been 
more common than the praise of God in song. Much of the 
literature of all nations is found to exist in psalms, and hymns, 
and spiritual songs, while many of the greatest geniuses of 
the world have given themselves to this species of literature, 
and have embalmed their names in the memories of millions 
by the sweet and soul-inspiring hymns they have left behind 
them. 

A large portion of the Psalms of David, the sweet singer of 
Israel, consists of hymns of praise to God, which is doubtless 
one reason why they have such an attraction to the pious 
heart, even at the present day, after having been sung for 
thousands of years. Nor will they ever lose their sweetness 
during the centuries that may follow. They w T ill never 
become obsolete. Who is there that has a heart to feel, or a 
tongue to speak that can refrain from joining the Psalmist in 
singing: 

“Thou art my God and I will praise Thee; 

Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee. 

0 give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, 

For his mercy endureth forever.” 

“While I live I will praise the Lord; 

I will sing praises unto my God 
While I have any being, 

Every day will I bless Thee, 

And I will praise Thy name 
For ever and ever. 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


55 

There are many times and occasions in the life of each indi¬ 
vidual which call for praise and thanksgiving. The rising and 
setting of the sun, the constant and regular changes of the 
seasons bringing seedtime and harvest, the uninterrupted flow of 
life and health, the daily supply of all our wants, the joy and 
gladness of our homes when we sit with our families before 
the cheerful fire, or around the festive board, \vith many other 
occasions that come rushing into the mind, are all times when 
we ought to be glad and praise the Lord for his goodness. 
The devout laborer as he goes to his work in the morning, or 
returns to the bosom of his family in the evening should do it 
with a gladsome heart. In short our whole life ought to be a 
psalm of praise to God. 

But not only in times of joy and gladness, of plenty and 
abundance, should we make melody in our hearts and sing- 
praises to God, we should do it no less in seasons of adver¬ 
sity and afflictions, as there are always mercies connected 
with our greatest trials and sorrows. There is also, as we all 
know, a wonderful power in song to appease our grief and 
quiet our aching hearts. Why this is so we may not be able 
to tell, but the fact is none the less apparent. Hence the 
sainted Richard Baxter, whose life was one of much suffering 
and persecution, said: 

“Nothing comforts me more in my greatest sufferings, or 
seems more fit for me while I wait for death than singing 
psalms of praise to God; nor is there any exercise in which I 
had rather end my life.” How like the words of Paul, who 
said, “Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirm¬ 
ities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 

Many of the martyrs sang praises to God until the flames 
quenched their breath. One hundred and f orty Albigensian 
Christians who were condemned to death marched into the 
fire which had been kindled to consume them, praising God 
that they were counted worthy to suffer for him. 

John Wesley, who died in his eightieth year, sang to the 
surprise of* his friends the day before his death 

“ I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath, 

And when my voice is lost in death 
Praise shall employ my nobler powers ; 


56 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


My days of praise shall ne’er be past, 
While life, and thought, and being last, 
Or immortality endure.” 


And when his strength was almost gone he frequently 
attempted to repeat these lines, but could only utter, 

“I’ll praise—I’ll praise,” 

and then passed away to that better land where he would 
employ his nobler powers in praising his Maker while immor¬ 
tality endures. 

When the Rev. Mr. Hoge, an eminent minister in the Pres¬ 
byterian church, died a few years ago his friends sang around 
his dying couch that beautiful hymn, 


“ How sweet the name of Jesus sounds, 
In a believers ear,” &c., 


and when they came to the lines • 


“ But when I see Thee as Thou art 
I’ll praise Thee as I ought” 


he summoned all his strength and joined in the singing of 
these and the last lines 


“ And may the music of Thy name 
Refresh my soul in death.” 


Need we wonder in view of the power and delight there is 
in song as seen in these and hundreds of other instances, that 
the congregations of God’s people unite as heartily as they do. 
in the Doxology, 


Praise God from whom all blessings flow 


Praise him all creatures here below, 
Praise him above, ye heavenly hosts, 
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 



THE BEING OF GOD. 


57 


PRAISE TO GOD FROM ALL CREATURES. 


Y E tribes of Adam, join 

With heav’n and earth and seas, 
And offer notes divine 
To your Creator’s praise. 

Ye holy throng of angels bright, 

In worlds of light begin the song. 

Thou sun, with dazzling rays, 

And moon that rul’st the night, 

Shine to your Maker’s praise, 

With stars of twinkling light. 

His pow’r declare, ye floods on high, 

And clouds that fly in empty air. 

The shining worlds above 
In glorious order stand, 

Or in swift courses move 
By his supreme command. 

He spake the wmrd, and all their fame 
From nothing came, to praise the Lord. 

He mov’d their mighty wheels 
In unknown ages past, 

And each his word fulfils, 

While time and nature last. 

In different ways his works proclaim 
His wonderous name, and speak his praise. 

Let all the earth-born race, 

And monsters of the deep, 

The fish that cleave the seas, 

Or in their bosom sleep. 

From sea and shore their tribute pay, 

And still display their Maker’s pow’r. 

Ye vapors, hail, and snow, 

Praise ye the Almighty Lord; 

And stormy winds that blow 
To execute his word. 

When lightnings shine, or thunders roar, 
Let earth adore his hand divine. 


o 



58 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


Ye mountains near the skies, 

With lofty cedars there, 

And trees of humbler size, 

That fruit in plenty bear. 

Beasts, wild and tame, birds, flies, and worms, 
In various forms, exalt his name. 

Ye kings and judges fear 
The Lord, the sov’reign King; 

And while you rule us here, 

His heav’nly honors sing : 

Nor let the dream of pow’r and state, 

Make you forget his pow’r supreme. 

Virgins and youth engage 
To sound his praise divine, 

While infancy and age 
Their feebler voices join. 

Wide as he reigns, his name be sung 
By ev’ry tongue, in endless strains. 

Let all the nations fear 
The God that rules above; 

He brings his people near, 

And makes them taste his love. 

While earth and sky attempt his praise, 

His saints shall raise his honors high. 


OBEDIENCE TO GOD. 


KEY. E. HERBRUCK, A. M., DAYTON, 0. 


BEDIENCE TO God is a duty so plain that he 
who disobeys sins against light and truth. That 
obeying God also brings its reward, has been expe¬ 
rienced a thousand times over by those who have 
loved him, and delighted in doing his will. What 
reason have we for not obeying him ? Why should 
we follow the dictates of our own weak minds, 
and despise that of God? It is not possible for us 
to give a proper answer to these questions. We have no 
reason for disobeying; but there is every reason why we 
should obey. He is sovereign, it is meet that the subject 













THE BEING OF GOD. 


59 

obey him. He is wise, it becomes us to trust in divine wisdom. 
He is the maker of the universe, can we for a moment doubt 
that he does not know what is best for us ? 

It is right for man to obey the laws of the state until he 
sees that they are such as should not be obeyed. Our relation 
to the divine government is the same. No one ever yet has 
obeyed the divine law and been disappointed or deceived. It 
has always been the case that such have been blessed and 
prospered beyond all expectation. The Scriptures are full of 
examples that show us how God prospered those who obeyed 
his word. No one ever mistakes when he obeys God. The 
law of God is so perfect that man cannot help but be blessed 
in obeying it. There is not a command in his book but that is 
intended for the good of man. If this be true, that God desires 
the welfare of man, and that he has given his word that he 
may be guided thereby, is it not the basest ingratitude, and 
does it not show the most depraved nature when men say, 
‘‘We will not obey God.” 

This obedience must be a willing obedience*. If it is forced, 
it is not what God desires. The slave may be compelled to obey 
the commands of his master, but that is not obedience. It must 
be free, the heart must be with it. It will not do to say, “I 
obey, because thou art Lord,” but, “ I obey willingly, because 
I love thee, because I delight in thy law, and because thou 
hast been so infinitely kind to me.” God delights in such obe¬ 
dience. We know what a pleasure kindles in the heart of an 
earthly parent when a child freely obeys the parental 
authority. It is the same with God. His heart glows with 
pleasure as he sees his children amid the fierce heat of earth’s 
trials endeavoring to do his will. We must not believe either 
that the obedience God delights in is such as is given in expec¬ 
tation of a reward. That is an obedience merely of the flesh, 
and not of the heart. What God wants is the obedience of a 
son, not of a hireling. You engage a man to labor for you, he 
performs the labor faithfully, but he does it not because he 
loves you, but because he expects a remuneration. You ask 
your son to perform the same labor, he obeys you not because 
he expects to be paid for it, but because he loves you. So God 
expects us to give the willing obedience of children, not the 
forced obedience of hirelings, or those who expect a compen- 


60 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


sation. We have the assurance that they who obey shall 
find pleasure in that obedience, and receive the reward of the 
righteous. God says, “Behold, I set before you this day a 
blessing and a curse; a blessing if ye obey the command¬ 
ments of the Lord your God which I command you this day; 
and a curse if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord 
your God.” And he has left us his word saying, “ Obey my 
voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people.” To 
obey God is better than to obey man. God will never deceive 
us. When we obey we know it is pleasing to him, and that it 
is one of the channels through which he blesses us. Obey God 
willingly, carefully, and in everything, and when the reaping 
time comes your arms will be full of sheaves, and there will be 
many in heaven who will be your joy and crown. 


PRAYER 


REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


RAYER MAY be defined as the offering up of our 
desires to God for such things as are in accordance 
with his will, or as simply communing with God. 
In either form it may be true and acceptable 
prayer without being expressed in any set form of 
words, so that it has been very beautifully said, 
“The silent breathing of the heart; the silent going 
♦ forth of the soul to its God, in adoration and praise, 
or in humble penitence and contrition; the faith that rests 
placidly on his mercy for pardon and the forgiveness of sin; 
the hope that looks joyfully toward the hills from whence its 
help cometh; the love that finds delight in communing with 
so great and so glorious a friend—these various states and ex¬ 
ercises of the mind are all, in one sense, but so many forms 
and varieties of prayer.” 

But true as it is that prayer may be, and often is offered 
silently without the use of words, it is equally true that he 
who communes much with God in this way will also fre¬ 
quently give expression to his desires in vocal utterances. 













THE BEING OF GOD. 


61 


When the heart is full of anything, it is generally a great 
relief to give expression to oitr feelings in words. When the 
heart is hot within us and the fire is burning, the tongue ordi¬ 
narily speaks. 

Prayer is common to all men. Even the wicked who do not 
like to retain God in their thought, pray to him in times of 
danger and peril. The reason why all men pray to God is 
because they are all conscious of their need and dependence 
upon him for the supply of their wants. 

Prayer may be said to include confession, petition, suppli¬ 
cation and thanksgiving. The first includes the acknowledg¬ 
ment of sin both original and actual, with an earnest desire 
for its forgiveness; the second, the asking of God for such 
things as are necessary for soul and body; the third, entreaty 
that all evil may be averted from us. and all needful good 
bestowed upon others; while in thanksgiving there is an ex¬ 
pression of gratitude for the varied blessings and mercies of 
life. 

The conditions of acceptable prayer may be said to embrace 
the following specification: That it must be addressed to the 
one true God, and not an imaginary Deity; that it be the sin¬ 
cere expression of the heart, and not a mere lip service; that 
it be offered in the name of Christ, and not in dependence 
upon our own personal goodness; that the soul be filled with 
a sense of its own unworthiness and sinfulness; and that it be 
offered in the confident belief that God will, for the sake of 
Christ, grant all we need, and that will be for our good accord¬ 
ing to his own gracious promise. 

Nothing can be more natural and rational than that we 
should pray to God. If a child wants anything it goes directly 
to the parent and asks for it, and never feels humiliated by 
so doing. All parents, also, love to have their children come 
to them and ask for such things as they need, and often chide 
them when they do not do it. Why then should we regard it 
wrong to go to God, for such things as we need, when we 
know that he is more willing to hear our prayers, and ready 
to grant our desires than any. earthly parent is to do good to 
his children. 

In praying to God for such things as we need, we do not ask 
him to change his purposes and plans for our sake, but only 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


62 

place ourselves in such a condition, by an acknowledgement of 
our dependence upon him, that he may in consistency with 
himself grant unto us the desires of our heart. When a beg¬ 
gar comes to our door and asks for bread to satisfy his hunger, 
we feel that we are doing a noble and praiseworthy act when 
it is in our power to grant his request, and if we are convinced 
that he is really needy we often give him more than he asks. 
Why then should God be restricted in his benefactions, and 
why should any one regard it derogatory to pray to him? Is 
it any wonder that he should ask, as if desirous of chiding us 
for our inconsistency, u If ye then, being evil, know how to 
give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your 
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?” 

The importance of prayer as the condition upon which God 
is pleased to bestow his blessings must be apparent to all. In 
no other way have we any right to expect our daily and hourly 
wants to be supplied. And in no other way can we maintain 
communion and fellowship with our Maker. The poet has„ 
therefore, very beautifully said: 

“ Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath, 

The Christian’s native air, 

His watchword at the gate of death ; 

He enters heav’n with pray’r.” 

The Savior knowing our weakness and dullness, and how 
much we need line upon line, and precept upon precept, 
before we can rightly understand and perform our duty, has 
in great condescension and mercy given us a form of prayer 
that we may know how to pray and what things we should 
pray for, saying when ye pray say: 


O UR FATHER which art in heaven, Hallowed 
be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will 
be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us 
this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, 
as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into 
temptation, but deliver us from evil; For thine is 
the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for 
ever. Amen. 


THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER. 


REV. I. S. HAIIN, MANCHESTER, 0. 


HERE ARE some who define prayer as a mere 
sentiment, or theory. It is the means for the 
accomplishment of a specific end. And a very 
important means of grace it is along with the 
sacraments, Sabbath, providence and word of 
God, whether read or preached. Neither men or 
devils can close its gates. AYhen every other 
avenue to God is closed, when bitter persecutions drive us from 
the house of God, when the voice of the preacher is silenced, 
when the church closes her doors upon us, or debars us from 
the privilege of communion, when the Bible is taken from us, 
as was done under Papal rule, we may still have access to God 
in prayer. 

Simple and explicit as the language of the Bible is upon this 
subject, we are often led to doubt the truth of its teaching, 
when it assures us that whatsoever we ask in the name of 
Christ shall be given us. If there is any error in the hearts of 
the people to-day, it is not that they have too much confidence 
in the efficacy of prayer, but rather that there is too little faith 
in the promise of God. 

When a week of prayer is appointed, or the church is pray¬ 
ing for a special manifestation of divine grace, how often do 
we hear expressions of doubt, rather than the assurances of 
the divine presence. It is to be feared the lips too often utter 
the language, while the heart forgets the injunction, “ask in 
faith, believing.” How few go to the place of prayer as did 
the little girl, on a cloudless day, with cloak and umbrella, and 
when asked why she did this, replied, “We are going to pray 
for rain, and I will need it on my way home.” Certain it is, 
that if we expected more, we would not only ask for, but get 
more. 

It is not for us to ask what prayer will do, but rather what 
has it not done. If the promise is, that “the effectual fervent 









THE BEING OF GOD. 


64 

prayer of the righteous availeth much,” and the same God 
continues in all ages, then he who doubts for a moment does 
so unto sin. 

If prayer delivered Israel from the cruelty and persecutions 
of Pharaoh, and divided the waters of the sea, so that they 
stood like solid walls of masonry on either side of their passage, 
and then overthrew the wicked hosts who were in pursuit, why 
shall we, for a moment, tremble to confront the powers of 
darkness ? 

If the hand upon the valve can stop a complicated piece of 
machinery, prayer has done more, for it has ascended to the 
heavens, and caused the sun and moon to stand still. Abra¬ 
ham’s servant prays, and Bebekah appears; Jacob wrestles 
and prays till the morning, and Esau’s wrath is turned away; 
Hezekiah and Isaiah pray, and one hundred and eighty-five 
thousand of the Assyrians were dead in twelve hours; Daniel 
prays, and the fierce lions retire to their lairs; the king comes 
forth at the dawn of the morning, and Babylon hails the 
beauty of a brighter and better day. 

Prayer has bound the clouds and loosed them again. See 
the prophet’s servant yonder, on the top of Carmel, looking 
towards the sea. He descries a speck like a white sail on the 
rim of the great deep. It rises no larger at first than a man’s 
hand, it grows, gathers, spreads, till it covers the entire vault 
of heaven; and now with thunders roaring, lightning flashing, 
rain pouring down from the skies, and foaming cascades 
leeping down the hills, the king urges the horses on, and flies 
before the tempest. Who or what wrought this welcome and 
suddden change ? The prayer of that man who, with shaggy 
robe and girded loins, ran by the chariot, did it. 

Witness, again, the church on the day of Pentecost, when 
bitter persecutions had tossed it to and fro, like a frail barque 
disabled by the raging storm. It would seem powerless, but 
that little band had not forgotten to pray. That day found 
them all in one place, with one accord, when suddenly, though 
no breath stirs the leaves of the aspen, or bent the reed that 
stood in the shallows of the sleeping lake, there came a sound, 
as when the wind roars through the winter forest. Every man 
is startled, and raises his head in sudden alarm, asking what it 
is; on every head is a tongue of fire, the sign of the Spirit’s 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


65 


presence, and the power of prayer. Hanging over destruction, 
his people cry to the Lord, “The kings have set themselves, 
and the rulers "have taken counsel together against the Lord 
and his anointed, but he who sits in the heavens shall laugh: 
he has them in derision.” 

Can we forget the prayer of Luther, as he bows before his 
prostrate and striken friend, Melancthon? With all the ardor 
of soul he grasps the arm of prayer, wields it with such power, 
as to tear him from the very jaws of death, to remain as a 
co-worker, in laying a firmer foundation for the Reformation. 

The power of prayer is in the hands of God’s people to-day. 
Let them arise in their might, and bring up to the standard of 
the Lord the now latent forces of the church, and the palaces 
of sin throughout, will everywhere tremble from dome to 
foundation stone. Like the receding tide, sin must sink before 
the power of God. If God has commanded his people to pray, 
then in his omniscience he has also provided for their prayers. 
It is the life of the church, the breath of the Christian, the 
staff* for the dying. Who will doubt its power as he stands by 
the couch of that dying friend, and while the river of death 
rolls its dark waters at his feet, he hears him breathe his last 
prayer, and then shouts in triumph, u O death where is thy 
sting? O grave where is thy victory?” It opens the gates of 
pearl, and brings to the eye of the spirit visions of holy 
prilgriins thronging the streets of gold, to welcome him home 
when his day’s work is done. 


BELIEVING PRAYER. 



REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


says, 


N ORDER that prayer may be heard and answered 
of God it must be offered in faith. This is one of 
the essential conditions of effectual prayer, as may 
be inferred from the emphatic language of Christ, 
who said to the disciples, “All things whatsoever 
ye shall ask in prayer believing ye shall receive,” 
which is reaffirmed by the apostle James when he 
If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God who 


giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be 
given him. But let him ask in faith nothing wavering; for 
he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the 
wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall re¬ 
ceive anything of the Lord. A doubleminded man is unstable 
in all his ways.” 

With such clear and explicit instruction upon the subject it 
is strange that there should be any misunderstanding or error 
respecting it. And yet there can be no doubt that many 
prayers are not heard for the reason that those who offer them 
have no faith, and would, perhaps, in some instances, be sur¬ 
prised if they were to receive the things they ask of God. 

A prayer that is offered without faith, or the belief that it 
will be answered of God must, in the nature of the case, be 
heartless, and destitute of all earnestness and desire of receiv¬ 
ing what is prayed for. We need not wonder that such 
prayers are never heard. Great stress should, therefore, be 
put upon the importance of faith in prayer, or to put it in the 
language of the Savior believing that we shall receive what we 
ask of God. 

Whatever doubts may be entertained upon other points 
there should be none as to the willingness of God, our 
heavenly Father, to hear and answer prayer when we ask for 
such things as are in accordance with his will. Mr. Spurgeon 
expresses most impressively the thought which we wish to 
convey when he says, “ I might doubt the law of gravitation, 





THE BEING OF GOD. 


67 

but the law that God hears my prayers I cannot doubt. I can 
say honestly that hundreds of times, almost all sorts of things, 
I have taken my case to God, and have obtained the desires 
of my heart, or something far better, and that not by mere 
coincidence, as objectors assert, but in a manner palpably in 
reply to my pleadings.” All true Christians can bear substan¬ 
tially the same testimony. 

That infidels, sceptical scientists and those who do not pray 
should doubt and even express disbelief as to the efficacy of 
prayer, and argue that there is no use in it as God knows what 
we need, and will not change his laws to meet our varied 
necessities is not to be wondered at, as it has been common for 
men in all ages to make excuses for their neglects and omis¬ 
sions of duty. But surely no Christian who believes in the 
revelation God has made in his word can be deterred from a 
duty so plainly taught as that u men ought always to pray and 
not to faint.” For believing most firmly in the uniformity of 
the laws of nature, as well as the sceptic, we see no reason 
why the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, who has made and 
governs all things may not so direct and control his own laws- 
as to produce the very things which his creatures need and 
pray for. 

u It would be strange, indeed, were this world so made, and 
its laws so framed, that God, allwise and powerful as he is r 
would in all after-time be so painfully fettered by them as to 
be unable to render the help his love might prompt, or his lips- 
had promised and be actually less free to aid others than the 
very creatures of his hand. Surely, in spite of the alleged 
fixity of nature’s laws, the mother can hear the cry of her 
babe, and supply in need and protect in danger, how much 
more must the great God over all be free to hear and bless the 
children of his love, the adopted heirs of the purchased inher¬ 
itance.” 

And if it should ever so happen, that the Christian would 
be at a loss to answer satisfactorily all the objections raised 
against prayer, he may reply, as the unlearned peasant did to a 
sceptic under similar circumstances, u You may puzzle me 
with your reasonings, but I can baffle you with my facts” 
knowing as he does that God has in numberless instances 
answered the prayers of his people. 


*68 THE BEING OF GOD. 

And although. God may, as he often does, delay answering 
our prayers in order that he may test our sincerity, exercise 
our patience, invigorate our faith, call forth our importunity, 
and increase our gratitude and joy when the blessing comes, 
lie will always, in the end, do more and better for us than we 
are aible to ask, or worthy to receive. 

‘‘Then let us earnest be 
And never faint in pray’r, 

He loves our importunity 
And makes our cause his care.” 


PRAYER HEARD AND ANSWERED. 


ALL UPON me,” says God, a in the day of trouble, 
and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” 
This is one of those cheering promises which have 
been the comfort and safety of God’s people in 
every age. While it gives a condition, it pledges 
a sure and blessed result, telling us that if in 
danger, or perplexity, or trouble, we call upon God, 
he will answer, and deliver and save. 

Multitudes have tested the promise, and in their own experi¬ 
ence have found it to be true. In the hour of trouble or 
perplexity or danger many a child of God has called on him, 
when there was no other resource, and has found him faithful 
to his promise to deliver, as is shown in the following narrative, 
which is literally true: 

In a large and lone house, in the south of England, Jived a 
lady of piety and wealth, with only maid-servants in the 
dwelling itself, her men-servants being in cottages at a distance 
from the house. It was her custom to go through the house 
with one of her servants every evening, to see that the windows 
and doors were properly secured; and one night, after seeing 
that all was sale, she retired to her room, when, as she entered 
it, she saw distinctly a man under her bed. What could she 
do? Her servants were in a distant part of the house, where 
they could not hear if she cried for help, and even with her 
ithey were no match for a desperate housebreaker. What then 










THE BEING OF GOD. 


69 * 

did she do ? Quietly closing and locking the door, as she wa& 
always in the habit of doing, she leisurely brushed her hair, 
put on her dressing-gown, and then, taking her Bible, sat down 
to read. She read aloud, though in a low and serious tone,, 
choosing a chapter which had special reference to (Sod’s, 
watchful care over those that trust him, whether by day or by 
night. When it was ended she knelt and prayed aloud, com¬ 
mending herself and servants to divine protection, pleading 
their utter helplessness, and their utter dependence upon God 
to preserve them from danger, praying for the poor, the sinful y 
and the tempted, that they might be kept from evil, and led 
to put their trust in God as their father and friend. Then, 
raising from her knees and putting out the light, she laid her¬ 
self down in bed, though almost of course she did not sleep.. 
After a few minutes the man came out from his concealment, 
and standing by her bedside, begged her not to be alarmed. 

u I came here,” he said, u to rob you, but after hearing the 
words you have read, and the prayer you have uttered, no* 
power on earth could induce me to harm you, or touch a thing 
in your dwelling. But you must remain perfectly quiet, and 
not make a noise to alarm your servants, or to interfere with 
me. I will give a signal to my companions which will lead 
them to go away, and you may sleep in peace, for no one shall 
harm you or disturb the smallest thing in your house.” He 
then went to the window and gave a low whistle, and coming 
back to the lady’s side said, u Now I am going. Your prayer 
will be answered, and no disaster will befall you.” 

He left the room, and at last all was quiet; and the lady at 
last fell asleep, calm in the exercise of her faith and trust in 
God, her soul filled with thankfulness for his protecting good¬ 
ness. The man proved true to his word. In the morning it 
was found that not a thing in the house had been disturbed. 
And the lady, more than once, earnestly prayed that the man. 
might be led to forsake his evil course and put his trust in that 
Savior who came to seek and save the lost, and who, even on 
the cross, could accept and save the thief that was penitent. 

The deliverance of the lady may seem wonderful, and the 
story almost too strange for belief. But sometime after the- 
occurance a letter was received by the one who related it, fully 
corroborating the statement, and adding some facts that 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


70 

enhance both the wonder and mercy of the escape. The letter 
says, “ In the first place, the robber told her that if she had 
given the slighest alarm or token of resistance, he was fully 
determined to murder her, so that it was providential she took 
the course she did. Then, before he went away, he said, 4 1 
never heard such words before, and I must have that book out 
of which you read;’ and he carried off her Bible, willingly 
enough given, you may be sure.’* 

This happened years ago, and only lately did the lady hear 
any more of the robber. She was attending religious meeting 
in Yorkshire, where, after several noted clergymen and others 
had spoken, a man arose, sajdng that he was employed as one 
of the book-hawkers (colporteurs) of the society, and told the 
story of the midnight adventure, as a testimony to the wonder¬ 
ful power of the Word of God, concluding with, “ I was that 
man!” The lady rose from her seat in the hall, and said 
quietly, “It is all true; I was the lady /” and sat down 
again. 

If we had more faith in God’s word, and more full and child¬ 
like reliance on his promises and his providence, should we not 
far more frequently find, in our own experience, that he never 
fails his people in the hour of need? 


PRACTICAL ATHEISM COMMON. 



HE REPROACH of the pagan world pronounced 
by Paul, “ that when they knew God they glorified 
him not as God ” unhappily is not undeserved by 
many* in our own times. Theoretical atheism 
may generally have been rejected, but that which 
is practical yet holds in bondage the large majority 
of souls. Inconsiderateness of divine things, pray- 
less and godlessness are the common evils of the age. Men and 
women who sincerely count themselves believers in the cen¬ 
tral truth of religion never bow the knee before God’s throne; 
they avoid his sanctuary, and keep every thought of his pres¬ 
ence and power as far as possible from them. They live 












THE BEING OF GOD. 


71 

every day as though there was no God, and act as though 
they stood not in the blaze of his omniscience, and were not 
hastening, with every fleeting breath to his judgment seat. 
And, I beseech you, beware of this inconsistency. Learn that he 
who made you, seeks to dwell in you; that he who rules over you 
would fain become your friend and guide. Though you are 
weak and frail, though you are poor and helpless, he does not 
despise you, but would glorify your being with his own, and 
raise you to fellowship with himself. Think of him, turn to 
him, love and obey him, and then will you know from blessed 
experience, what it is to live, and move, and have your being 
in him. 

“ What am I? Naught. 

Nothing; yet the effluence of Thy light divine, 

Pervading worlds, hath reached thv bosom too; 

Yes in my spirit doth Thy Spirit shine. 

As shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew, 

Naught; but I live, and on hope’s pinions fly 
Eager towards Thy presence; for in Thee 
I live and breathe and dwell, aspiring high, 

Even to the throne of Thy divinity.” — Lorimer. 


BOLD UTTERANCES OF ATHEISTS. 



REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 


S SOME of our readers may not have access to the 
writings of Atheists we will here give a few 
specimens of their literature which may be re¬ 
garded as an index to the character of the writers. 

Gustave Flourens says: “ Our enemy is God. 

Hatred of God is the beginning of wisdom. If 
mankind would make true progress it must be on 
the basis of Atheism.” 

Mr. Bradlangh says: “Atheism properly understood is in 
no sense a cold, barren negative; it is, on the contrary, a 
hearty, truthful affirmation of all truth. You cannot get 
your scheme of morality without it.” 










72 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


Mr. Ingersoll, the modern champion of infidelity, says: 
“After all, God is but a guess, throned and established by 
arrogance and assertion. Pure science cannot afford to shut 
its eyes even long enough to pray. * * * The universe is 

all there is. It is both subject and object; contemplator and 
contemplated; creator and created; destroyer and destroyed; 
preserver and preserved; and within itself are all the causes, 
modes, motions and effects. * * * Every religion is based 

upon falsehood; and the moment the* truth is known and un¬ 
derstood they must fall. In the field of thought they are 
briers, thorns and noxious weeds; on the shores of intellectual 
discovery they are the wild beasts, fanged and monstrous. 
* * * The Jewish God must be dethroned! A personal 

Deity must go back to the darkness of barbarism from whence 
he came.” 

We may well ask, in view of such deliverances, are these 
men mad, or have they lost their reason; or has the world 
been in error during all its past history in regard to the being 
of God, and the benign influences of a belief in his existence. 
Men of all ages of the ripest culture and of the most excellent 
character, have uniformly borne testimony to the folly of athe¬ 
ism and of its deleterious effect upon public morals. How 
strange, therefore, to hear men, who would be regarded as 
oracles, say in the face of the current belief of all times, that 
God is the enemy of mankind, that religion is based on false¬ 
hood, that it is like noxious weeds, poisoning the atmosphere, we 
breathe, that the God* of the Bible must be banished from the 
world, and driven back into the darkness of barbarism so that 
atheism may have full sway and usher in the millenium of 
the world! In reading such strange statements, we are 
reminded of the juryman who regarded his eleven associates 
as imbeciles, because they decided differently from what he 
did. The judgment of sober-minded men in such cases, is that 
the imbecility lies with those who set themselves against the 
current notions of all ages, and give expression to sentiments 
that are repulsive to our better instincts. 

The fact is, atheism is shallow and inconsistent. And 
although it makes great pretentions to learning, it is con¬ 
fessedly superficial. It is noisy but not deep. It grapples 
with none of the great questions of the day, and is barren in 


THE BEING OF GOD. 


73 

results. It has made no discoveries in the arts and sciences, 
has established no schools of learning, has built no alms¬ 
houses or asylums for the poor and distressed, has reformed 
no inebriates, has excited no high aspirations for what is good 
and noble, has shown no philanthropy in ameliorating the con¬ 
dition of the masses, and has nothing of which it can boast 
unless it be its noisy opposition to the teachings of the Bible. 
Its course has been to break down and destroy, without giving 
anything in the place of what it has vainly attempted to over¬ 
throw. 


WHY MEN ARE SCEPTICS. 



IS not the want of light that precipitates a part 
of mankind into scepticism and keeps them away 
from the truth; it is the abuse of their free will. 
The darkness wherein they lose God is voluntary 
darkness; God shows himself, and they fly from 
him; God is the object present to their intelli¬ 
gence, and they choose to make their intelligence a 
sepulcher, or a chaos, rather than to adore the star 
that shines upon it. They abandon that inner light, 
the only true light to pursue for the obscure and powerless 
attraction of the material universe, from which they expect 
the joy of apostasy in the pride of f alse science. And yet 
the universe, all limited as it is, all pale and silent as it rises 
before our mind, is itself full of God. If it be not his like¬ 
ness it contains at least a vestige, a lineament of him, from 
the hyssop to the cedar, from the dew of the morning to the 
evening star, all nature is a reflection of the divine power, 
beauty and goodness. God, who in the body of men, has asso¬ 
ciated matter with the most subtle operations of the mind, has 
willed in the body of the world, to associate it with the reve¬ 
lation which his mind perpetually makes to our own. To each 
ray of ideal light there corresponds a ray of sensible light; to 
each vision of the uncreated world, a vision of the created; to 
each voice of the one, the voice of the other. But man sepa- 
6 








THE BEING OF GOD. 


74 

rates what God has united, enlightened by a double light 
because of his double substance, he does not perceive that 
both meet in a single fount, as one double substance termin¬ 
ates in one single personality, and dividing the truth by a 
divorce, which destroys it, opposes the revelation from with¬ 
out to the revelation from within, nature to God, matter to 
spirit. Or at least he disdains the superior light, as a sort of 
vague apparition in a badly defined horizon, while he cleaves 
to the inferior light as the only one which possesses a precise 
and positive character. From that moment all that relates to 
God, his attributes, his acts, becomes obscured in that adul¬ 
terous understanding; even if he does not descend to absolute 
scepticism, he clearly distinguishes only that which strikes the 
senses, and the truth in his eyes, is that alone which bears the 
stamp of a palpable and vulgar reality.— Lacordaire. 



PART II. 



« 


/ 






THE CHURCH THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE 
WORLD. 


REV. H. M. HERMAN, A. B., MIAMISBURG, 0. 


j SPEAK of the church is to call to mind what 
must be a very familiar subject. In these days of 
enlightenment and wide-spread literature, it would 
be supposed that an institution like the churcli 
would be thoroughly understood, as in every city 
and town, in the civilized world, and even in 
heathen lands, is heard the sound of “ the church 
going bell.” How familiar 

“ Her solemn vows, 

Her hymns of love and praise,” 

are to all from early childhood to old age. Not 
only is it a matter of memory, but a fact, that the church, with 
its great head, forms the centre around which all history 
revolves. It is the light of all civilized worlds, without which 
all civilization and culture would sink into the darkness of bar¬ 
barism and superstition. No student of history will deny the 
truth of this assertion. 

This being the case, there must be a power in the church 
that attaches to no other institution. The state is subordinate 
to it, for the state could not exist without the church, as it is 
the source of all true government, and is above all kingdoms, 
powers, and principalities. 

The day of Pentecost was the day of small things, humanly 
considered, whilst that age was the age of great things, as the 
world estimates greatness. The church was a babe, in swad- 
ling clothes, amidst a host of full-grown giants, each one 
determined to crush it out of existence. The courts and coun¬ 
cils of kings arrayed themselves against it. The whole world 
determined to destroy it. But see the result. The giants fell, 
















THE CHURCH. 


78 

the proud nations were conquered, and the babe became the 
conqueror and emancipator of the world from the dark thral¬ 
dom of mental and moral bondage. 

Instead of the church patterning after nations, they have 
patterned after it. Worldly influence, and well disciplined 
armies were not the source of its power and triumphs, but 
were marshaled against it. The hatred, malice, and unrelent¬ 
ing rage of the unregenerate heart were opposed to it. Out 
of the millions then living, only a few were on its side. 
Humanly speaking, there could be no room to hope for its 
triumph. Yet the first day’s work in the world gained the 
victory over three thousand souls. What a triumph! It did 
not stop there, but continued its march in the f ace of all oppo¬ 
sition, from without and within, until its banner of peace 
waves over nearly every land and nation. This cannot be said 
of any other institution. No system of morals or ethics, how¬ 
ever good, has accomplished as much—not even a single one 
remains that prevailed when the church began its career. 
Every power on earth has been brought to bear against it, and 
yet it is stronger and more potent for good to-day, than at any 
previous time of its history. Its triumph has always resulted 
in the elevation of man, and the diffusion of all that is good. 
Yet there are those who say, It is of no use, accomplishes no 
good, we can do as well without it as with it. What a delu¬ 
sion ! Let history answer the question by its irresistible logic. 
Nations died without it, and what is true of the whole nation 
must be true of each individual as a component part. Every 
page of history confirms the fact that the church is not of the 
world. Its characteristics are not human—directly the reverse. 
It condemns what the world applauds, denies what the world 
believes, ignores as a vanity that which men esteem of the high¬ 
est value, and warns against the danger of trusting in the things 
which promise the greatest strength. These things naturally 
antagonize the world and excite its contempt and foster its 
hatred. Yet, strange as it is, the ‘church, by its mysterious 
powers, has conquered all prejudice, and shorn the world of 
its pretended glory. The proudest monarch and the obscure 
peasant have become willing suppliants at its altar. 

This cannot be the agency of man, but of God. The church 
is not a society, as it is often thoughtlessly called,—a body of 


THE CHURCH. 


79 


men united together of their own will, under laws of their own 
choosing. But it is a living organism, the root, life, head and 
power of which is Jesus Christ. His life is that of the church. 
His divine power pervades, guides and directs each member, 
as the head directs the hand or foot of our bodies. Paul, in 
his epistle to the Collossians, says, “ He is the head and body 
of the church,” and to the Ephesians he says, “ And hath put 
all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all 
things, to the church which is his body, the fullness of him 
that filleth all in all.” This is strong language, and means just 
what it says. “ Head over all things.” How very significant! 
“ Hath put all things under his feet.” How positive God is in 
asserting the supremacy of Christ and his church! It is also 
emphatically declared that we can be saved only through 
Jesus Christ, “He is the way, the truth and the life,” and 
that there is no salvation save through the atonement made by 
him. Christ being the head of the church, and all power 
given to him, it must follow that all who would inherit the 
life of Christ, and obtain grace to overcome the sins of the 
world, must find it in his mystical body, the church. 

Is not this reasonable from the oft repeated declaration of 
God’s word? The title page of the church’s history has writ¬ 
ten upon it this significant declaration, “ And the Lord added 
to the church daily such as should be saved.” Men do not 
unite themselves by their own will or power, but are drawn by 
the Father. Saul did not of himself apprehend Christ, but 
was apprehended. In all ages has the church gone forth 
apprehending and subduing the unregenerate heart, and is 
placed in the world for the redemption of the race. Hence it 
is fitly said “ That out of the whole human race, from the 
beginning to the end of the world, the Son of God, by his Spirit 
and word, gathers, defends and preserves for himself unto 
everlasting life, a chosen communion in the unity.of the true 
faith; and that I am now and forever shall remain, a living 
member of the same,” which accords f ully with the significa¬ 
tion of the word church, which means, in the original, to call 
forth, to call together for a specific purpose, which is to serve 
God, and him alone and entirely. Every system of theology 
that is in accord with the word of God accepts the definition, 
as given above, as true. The church is not a society which 


80 


THE CHURCH. 


men may join at pleasure, and from which they may withdraw 
at will, nor is it to be treated with neglect. Her ordinances 
are the holy and divine instrumentalities through which 
grace is communicated to all wffio receive them in true faith. 
How precious then should be 

“ The church our blest Redeemer saved 

With his own precious blood” 

to eveiy member of our falien race. Has not the history of 
nearly two thousand years been sufficient to convince the most 
sceptical of its divine nature? Unaided by the state, and 
scoffed at by men, it is the same pure and omnipotent power it 
was a thousand years ago. Of the millions who have died, not 
one has ever regretted that he had availed himself of the priv¬ 
ileges of the church, nor has there ever been found one of the 
millions of the wicked rejoicing, in the hour of death, that he 
had despised the proffered help of Christianity, as given 
through the church. 

God himself has placed the highest honor upon the church 
when he said, “The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than 
all the dwellings of Jacob. And of Zion it shall be said, 
This and that man was born in her: and the Highest himself 
shall establish her. The Lord shall count, when he writeth up 
the people, that this man was born there. All my springs are in 
thee.” If such be the testimony concerning the church, then 
surely we dare not treat it with indifference, without incurring 
the wrath of God, and reaping the rewards of the finally lost. 


CHRIST THE HEAD AND FOUNDER OF THE 
CHURCH. 



REV. L. GROSENBAUGH, A. M., THREE RIVERS, MICH. 


E SHALL not aim to rehearse or define the various 
points of theology which may have a bearing upon 
our subject, either directly or indirectly, in the few 
pages devoted to it. The space allotted does not 
permit of such a discussion, nor would it be of 
much interest to the general reader. 

To set forth, in a simple and brief manner, the character of 
Christ the Founder of the church, and the relation which 
exists between him and the church, as its Head , is all we can 
hope to do. 

The church, as it now exists, and has existed in the past, 
owes its origin and glorious history exclusively to Jesus Christ. 
This origin it owes to him as its Founder , and its glorious 
history it owes to him as its Head. “ All things were made by 
him, and without him was nothing made that was made.” “ In 
him was life: and the life was the light of men.” Universal 
creation is thus explicitly ascribed to Christ in the Bible. He 
is also spoken of as the source of life eternal, “Who of God is 
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, 
and redemption.” He came into the world according to the 
promises, in fulfillment of the prophesies, and as the end of 
the law. Sacred history, from its beginning to the present 
time, is but the history of Christ as the Founder and Head of 
the church. 

The Bible presents him to us, first in promises, then in types 
and ceremonies, next in prophesy, then in the flesh, as laying 
the foundations of the church, and finally in glory at the right 
hand of God as the Head of his church. When the Old Dis¬ 
pensation had fulfilled its purposes, preparatory to something 
fuller and better, Christ came and inaugurated the New Dis¬ 
pensation. 








82 


THE CHURCH. 


The object of the incarnation was that he might gather unto 
himself, out of the whole human family, a church which he 
would preserve and defend unto everlasting life. To found 
such a kingdom, two things had first to be accomplished: The 
penalty of sin had to be paid, and human nature delivered 
from the power of sin. By his active and passive obedience,; 
Christ achieved these two prerequisites. By his sufferings he 
atoned for the sins of mankind, and by his sinless life deliv¬ 
ered us from the power of sin and Satan. This was, indeed, a 
work of marvelous greatness. It is the sure foundation of the 
church. It is the only hope for a sin-cursed world. 

It was the union of divinity and humanity in Christ that 
enabled him to lay such a sure foundation. As a mere man he 
could not have performed such a work. The adaptation of 
Christianity to meet all the needs and wants of man must be 
ascribed to its perfect Founder. 

There is another feature peculiar to Christianity which must 
be traced to the same source, that is its permanence. The 
declaration of Christ “ that the gates of hell should not prevail 
against the church,” has been most clearly demonstrated in the 
history of Christianity. Organizations, inventions, social 
reforms, as well as all the orders of life, partake largely of the 
character of the source from which they spring. In all these 
the relation of cause and effect is clearly visible. The nature 
of the cause universally determines the character of the effect. 
The church is perfect because its founder was perfect. It is 
ultimate, or permanent in character, because its founder was 
possessed of infinite wisdom and power. A work performed by 
one possessed of such power and wisdom, must of necessity be 
characterized by the highest degree of excellence. The skill 
and the genius of the workman, as a rule, determine the pro¬ 
duct of the labor. He imparts to all his work that which is 
peculiar to his personal agency. The life and character of the 
child are largely determined by the parents; the culture and 
training of the pupil are mostly fixed by the teacher. The 
stream will rise to the same height as the fountain that feeds 
it, and the tree will grow according to the germ from which it 
springs. It is a law in Natural Philosophy, that a force of 
any kind can transmit only its own inherent energy. Simply 
this, and no more. 


THE CHURCH. 


83 

These references are all illustrations of this principle, that 
the perfection of an organization or institution will depend 
largely upon the men who found it. 

The church receives its excellence and perfection from its- 
founder. From him Christianity has inherited its life, genius, 
and aspirations. He gave his own life to the church, with the 
command that the membership should reproduce it. The pupil 
is to strive to equal the master. The church, in her work and 
history, is simply a development of the life and teachings of 
Jesus Christ. His life and words, while on earth, were, in one 
sense, the germs from which the church sprang. Christianity 
has an illustrious and glorious Founder—One essentially differ¬ 
ent from the founders of other religious systems, which distin¬ 
guishes it pre-eminently from all the other forms of religion. 

The character of the founder establishes the character of 
Christianity. Hence infidels and scoffers at religion have- 
assailed the person of Christ, more than the system which he 
inaugurated. 

But Christ did not simply lay the foundations of the church, 
and then, after his ascension, leave it to the care of men. He 
continues to be its Head. The life and the power of Christi¬ 
anity continue to emanate from him. He watches over the 
church and directs all her affairs in such a manner that his 
own purposes will, in the end, be evolved. The work, wisdom 
and power of men are not the only agencies at work in the 
church, Christ is also in it with his spirit, grace and power. 
He is to the church what the head is to the members of the 
human body. He is the Head, and all believers are members 
of his body. The hope of the church lies in her blessed Head. 
Without Christ the church would soon share the fate of other 
institutions. Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon founded vast 
empires, but after their death they soon became dismembered. 
And this because the genius and power by which they were 
established ceased with their death. Confucius, Buddha, and 
Mohammed founded religious systems, but did not like Christ 
continue to be operative among the people, who embraced 
their doctrines and practices. Whatever personal power and 
influence they may have possessed while they lived, when they 
died their influence ceased entirely. Confucianism, Buddh¬ 
ism and Mohammedanism have no abiding head in the person 


84 


THE CHURCH. 


of their founders. Compared with Christianity they are not 
only essentially false, they are also utterly devoid of the life, 
grace and power, which came to the church from her glorious 
Head. Hence the church will live and grovq whilst they are 
doomed to wither and finally perish. 

The church is not in the world to take care of itself. Its 
blessed Head will do this. He defends it against all it foes. 
He is operating in it. by his Spirit in the means of grace. The 
work of the church, in its truest sense, is the work of Christ. 
What a comfort it is to the Christian that he is the servant of 
Christ, and that all his work and service may be performed in 
the name and strength of Christ! He is not alone in the 
struggle against sin—not alone as he wrestles with the flesh, 
the world and Satan. Christ is his strength, wisdom and right¬ 
eousness. What a glorious hope there is also in this, that in 
the future we shall be like our Head. “ A hope so divine 
may trials well endure.” As we become familiar with Christ, 
the Head and Founder of the church, our hope is strengthened, 
and our confidence in Christianity increased, being assured 
that he will, by his almighty power and wisdom, defend the 
church until the gospel shall be preached to every creature, 
and the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms of the 
Lord. 


JESUS OF NAZARETH, WHO IS HE ? 


REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


HO IS Jesus of Nazareth? This is a question of 
deep and thrilling interest. And although more 
than 1800 years have passed away since he was 
nailed to the cross as a malefactor, and his body 
laid in the grave, during which time volumes have 
been written upon it and sermons preached without 
number, it is still stirring men’s minds to their very 
t depths and causing them to repeat the question 
with as much solicitude as if nothing had ever been said or 
written upon it. Why is this, we are naturally led to ask ? 
Had he been merely a man among men, a visionary enthusiast, 










THE CHURCH. 


85 

a deceiver, as some are want to affirm, it would have been im¬ 
possible that his life, teaching and death could have made the 
impression it has, and held the world spell-bound so long with¬ 
out some one detecting the imposition and breaking the 
charm. But instead of this, his name and religion are now 
more widely known, and more deeply rooted in the hearts of 
his followers than they have ever been, a fact which demands a 
rational and satisfactory explanation, especially from those 
who have no faith in him, and are doing all in their power to 
cast reproach upon his cause. 

But where and how shall we approach a subject of such 
wonderf ul interest, such mysterious depths and vast dimensions 
as to stand related to all truth, whether it belong to the world 
of matter or of mind, to the natural or supernatural ? Shall 
we speak of his person and character as portrayed in the gos¬ 
pel narrative, which is as inexplicable to us as it was to those 
who saw and heard him in the days of his flesh, who were 
often led to ask, Who is he? What place shall we assign him? 
What his origin and mission? Or shall we speak of the power 
by which he is still drawing men unto himself, according to 
his own prediction, from every class in society, creating 
thereby a brotherhood of believers, bound together by such 
ties of affection that no power on earth can sever ? Or shall 
we speak of the kingdom he has established which, although 
at first small, like a grain of mustard seed, has gradually 
worked its way out among the nations of the earth, by its own 
inherent power, until the present outlook is such as to fore¬ 
shadow its final triumph in every part of the world? View 
the character of Christ in any, or all the different phases in 
which it presents itself, we are struck with its comprehensive¬ 
ness, as well as the wonderful impression it has upon us. 

If we go to the Bible for an answer to the question, who is 
Jesus of Nazareth, we are told that he is the central figure, 
the one great personage of whom Moses .in the law, and the 
prophets wrote. So fully does he, indeed, enter into the 
Scriptures of the Old Testament (and no less in those of the 
New) that if it were possible to eliminate every reference 
which they make to him, there would be nothing left but the 
driest, barest skeleton, which could have no interest or attrac¬ 
tion for any one, which, again, is a matter of wonder, how it 


THE CHURCH. 


86 

is that one so lowly and humble as Jesus was, should have 
been the theme of prophets, poets and historians for 4000 
years, the story of whose life, work and mission should run as 
a golden thread through their writings, and create such interest 
in him as to make him the desire of all nations. For study 
the writings of Moses and the prophets as we may, we will 
find, as the result of our investigation, that the Messianic 
prophecies run through the whole of them, and afford the 
only hope the world then had of any deliverance from its 
doubts, fears.and misery. 

That all this now was the work of chance or accident, that 
Moses and t]ie prophets wrote as they did, or that what they 
said of Jesus originated with them, and was the work of their 
own imagination is what no one can consistently believe, inas¬ 
much as the character which they portray, and the things 
which they foretold of Jesus transcend and go beyond the 
power of reason, which is to make the effect greater than the 
cause, which must be regarded as an absurdity. Hence we con¬ 
clude that a character, like that of Jesus of Nazareth, so won¬ 
derful in all its parts, first spoken of in the dim and shadowy 
representation of prophecy, then appearing at the appointed 
time in the world, clothed in human flesh—shut out from the 
gaze and observation of the world for thirty years, when all 
of a sudden he enters upon his appointed work, with the man¬ 
ifest approbation of his Father in heaven—leading a life of 
spotless purity—speaking as never man did—performing mir¬ 
acles such as had never been heard of in the history of the 
world—yet hated, despised, persecuted, and at last put to the 
shameful death of the cross—rising from the dead on the 
morning of the third day, openly making a show of himself 
after he had robbed death of its sting, and the grave of its 
victory—ascending up into heaven from whence he came, 
taking his seat at the right hand of God, his name, doctrine 
and religion spreading, in the meantime with such rapidity as 
to astonish both friend and foe—surely a character like this 
may well astonish and confound us, and challenge our most 
serious and prayerful consideration in the hope that we may 
form some adequate idea of its matchless beauty and excel¬ 
lence, and be brought into living sympathy and communion 
with him. 


THE CHARACTER OF JESUS ORIGINAL AND 
UNIQUE. 



REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. L., TIFFIN, 0. 


HE CHARACTER of Jesus of Nazareth has no 
counterpart, it stands isolated and alone, there 
being no other character among all the millions 
that have lived and died like it. For, study as you 
may, the entire domain of history and romance, 
not excepting the wonderful and inimitable pro¬ 
ductions of such geniuses as Homer, Dante, 
Chaucer, Shakespear and Milton, you will find nothing that 
eorresponds to it. Great as the diversity is in nature among 
the plants, flowers, trees and animals there are always points 
of similarity and resemblance which make it possible to group 
and classify them, so that to the eye of the botanist, or 
naturalist there is nothing that stands alone. The same is 
also true of men, that while no two persons can be found ex¬ 
actly alike in form and expression they, nevertheless, always 
have some traits in common so that we are in the habit of 
arranging and classifying them as philosophers, poets, orators, 
scientists, artisans and mechanics. But to which of these 
divisions does Jesus of Nazareth belong? and to whom among 
all the sons of men can we compare him ? I know some are 
want to compare him with Socrates, while others profess to 
see points of resemblance between him and the founder of 
empires and religions; but when we come to examine the f acts 
in the case, the resemblance that was supposed to exist van¬ 
ishes, leaving him alone in his glory and originality. 

The remarks of Rousseau, a noted French infidel are so 
much in point, touching the subject under consideration, that 
we are forced to ask as he does: “Is it possible that the 
sacred personage of whom we read in the gospel should be 
himself a man ? Do we find that he assumed the tone of an 
enthusiast, or ambitious sectary ? What sweetness, what pur¬ 
ity in his manners? What affecting gracefulness in his 
delivery? What sublimity in his maxims? What profound 











THE CHURCH. 


88 

wisdom in his discourses? What presence of mind, what 
subtlety, what truth in his replies ? How great the command 
over his passions ? Where is the man, where the philosopher, 
who could so live, and so die, without weakness and without 
ostentation ? When Plato described his imaginary good man, 
loaded with all the punishments of guilt, he exactly described 
Jesus Christ; the resemblance was so .great that the fathers 
perceived it. What prepossession, what blindness must it be 
to compare the son of Sophroniscus to the Son of man. 
* * * Yea, if the life and death of Socrates were those of 

a sage, the life and death of Jesus were those of a God.” How 
sharply are the points of contrast between Socrates and Jesus 
pointed out in these remarkable words of Rousseau, and if no 
resemblance is found here, where is there one, among all the 
the great and good, that w T e can compare with Jesus giving 
the most conclusive proof, that his character is original, and 
different from all others. 

Napoleon, who was one of the best judges of human nature 
and character, gave the following remarkable deliverance 
respecting Jesus of Nazareth, during his lonely exile at St. 
Helena: 

“ Every thing in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes 
me, and his will confounds me. His ideas and his sentiments, 
the truths which he announces, his manner of convincing, are 
not explained, either by human observation, or the nature of 
things. 

“His birth and the history of his life; the profundity of his 
doctrine, which grapples the mightiest difficulties, and which 
is of these difficulties the most admirable solution; his gospel, 
his apparition, his empire; his march across the ages and the, 
realms—every thing is for me a prodigy, a mystery insolvable 
which plunges me into a re very from which I cannot escape; 
a mystery w r hich is there before my eyes; a mystery which I 
can neither deny or explain. 

u Here I see nothing human. The nearer I approach, the 
more carefully I examine, everything is above me, every thing 
remains grand—of a grandeur which overpowers. 

“ Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and 
the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That 


THE CHURCH. 


89 

resemblance does not exist. * * * * I know men, 

and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man.” 

With such estimates as these of Jesus of Nazareth from 
men competent to judge, and which might be greatly increased 
were there any necessity to do so, we feel that we do not err 
in pronouncing his character original and unique, so that we 
have only one Christ in the religious, as we have one sun in 
the physical world. 


THE CHARACTER OF JESUS OF NAZARETH COM¬ 
PREHENSIVE AND WORLD-EMBRACING. 


REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


ESUS OF Nazareth, although born of Jewish 
parents, and, therefore, a descendent of Abraham, 
was, by virtue of his assumption of our nature in 
its generic form, neither Jew nor Gentile, neither 
Greek nor Roman, but what he often styled him¬ 
self the Son of man , meaning thereby that he pos¬ 
sessed, to the fullest extent, all that was essen¬ 
tially human, and free from the peculiarity of race, or 
nationality. Had he been less human, or had he been merely 
a Jew, Greek or Roman, he might have founded a system of 
philosophy like Plato, an empire like Alexander, and a relig¬ 
ion like Zoroaster; he might even have surpassed and gone 
beyond all who had preceeded him; but could not in the 
nature of the case have been the Redemer of the world, as he 
would not have been in real sympathy with humanity as a 
whole, which is the chief reason why all the schemes of 
humanitarianism, that have been devised have so signally 
failed, and lost their hold upon the world. Any one 
acquainted with the history of the past knows that the world 
has had many reformers, and visionary enthusiasts, all of 
whom have had some panacea for the amelioration of the con¬ 
dition of the human family. Everything in fact that human 
ingenuity and learning could devise has been attempted. One 
7 














90 


THE, CHURCH. 

system of philosophy, government and religion has succeeded 
another until the cry of despair has come up from all sides, 
who will show us any good ? 

And yet notwithstanding all these attempts at the improve¬ 
ment of society there has been but little real progress in the 
world as a whole; for the reason that the schemes that have 
been devised have for the most part embodied nothing more 
than the views and opinions of their founders, and were, 
therefore, adapted only to a comparatively small number of 
persons, and were soon forgotten. Such has evidently been 
the character of the many different forms of religion that have 
prevailed in the heathen world; they were all established with 
reference to some particular locality beyond which they 
have made no attempts to go. And, although some of them, 
as in the case of Brahmanism and Confucianism have existed 
for thousands of years, it is chiefly because the people who 
have embraced them have, during all this time, been sta¬ 
tionary, and made no real progress themselves. Not one of 
their religions has the element of Catholicity to such an extent 
as to give the faintest hope that it will become the religion of 
the world. It is different, however, with Christianity, the relig¬ 
ion of Jesus of Nazareth, who, although a man like unto those 
whom he came to save, was, at the same time, lifted above all 
the limitations of family, race, nationality, and even the age 
in which he lived, so that he became the true type and repre¬ 
sentative of humanity in its broadest sense. Hence the relig¬ 
ion which he founded is unlike all others, chiefly in this, that 
while they were established with reference to some particular 
age, nation or locality, this, like its divine author, is cosmopol¬ 
itan, and, therefore, adapted to every phase and condition of 
society the world over—offers its blessings alike to the Jew 
and to the Gentile, male and fc male, young and old, and will 
in the end, most likely, supplant all the other religions of the 
world and become universal. 


THE CHARACTER OF JESUS ABSOLUTELY 
PERFECT AND SINLESS. 


REV. GEO W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


IIE CHARACTER of Jesus of Nazareth stands 
out, in every aspect in which we may look upon 
it, in striking contrast with all others. There is no 
one of all the sons of men like unto him. The 
most we can expect of men, fallen and imperfect 
as they are, is that they may excel in some one 
particular. Many never gain any distinction at all 
in moral excellence, being overcome by the temp¬ 
tations around them to vice and profligacy. Hence those who 
are fortunate enough to excel their fellow-men in wisdom, 
meekness, patience, patriotism or philanthropy, are ordinarily 
spoken of as paragons of excellence. Who has not heard of 
the meekness of Moses, the patience of Job, the wisdom of 
Solomon, the justice of Aristides, the zeal and energy of Paul, 
the boldness and intrepidity of Luther, the mildness of 
Melancthon, the philanthropy of Howard, and the patriotism 
of Washington. And yet distinguished as they were in the 
virtues referred to, they were still far from being perfect in 
them, whilst their characters in other aspects were very defi¬ 
cient and defective. It is, indeed, a sad but true confession, 
that of all the millions that have lived, the characters of the 
very best have been so blurred and defaced by sin, as to cause 
us to turn away from the sight with sorrow and regret. There 
is not one that has been perfect, for all have sinned and done 
evil in the sight of God. It is different, however, with Jesus 
of Nazareth, who exhibits a character not only free from every 
blemish and imperfection, but which also blends and unites in 
the most exact and beautiful proportions, like the colors of 
the rainbow, every possible perfection and excellence. For, 
according to the testimony of those who knew him best, he 
had no sin, neither was guile ever found in his mouth. And 
although his enemies have, for eighteen centuries, been putting 
every thing he said and did to the severest test of criticism, 












92 


THE CHURCH. 


and have twisted and tortured his words and actions in every 
conceivable way, there is not one of them that has even dared 
to charge him with folly, or been able to fasten the slightest 
blemish upon his snow-white character. The fact is the 
character of Jesus, like the religion which he established, is 
gaining in power and attraction the more it is studied and the 
wider it is known, which is the best proof we can have of its 
transcendent excellence and sinlessness. 

It should also be borne in mind that the character of Jesus, 
so perfect and pure, was not attained in the cloister, where he 
was free from the noise and tumult of the world, nor was it 
the result of a combination of circumstances peculiarly favor¬ 
able to its formation. The facts in the case were just the 
opposite. For who of all the sons of men was tempted and 
tried as Jesus, during the whole of his public ministry. All 
that human wickedness and satanic malevolence could do was 
done to implicate him in crime and guilt. And yet, in the 
midst of this terrible struggle and conflict from which there 
was no cessation, he developed and exhibited a character the 
most beautiful, perfect and natural the world has ever seen, to 
the astonishment and admiration of all who have ever consid¬ 
ered and examined it, affording one of the strongest proofs of 
his divinity. 

This absolutely perfect and sinless character of Jesus, fitted 
him in an eminent degree for the work for which he came into 
the world, which was to make a full satisfaction to the law 
and character of God for the sins of the world. For had he 
himself been a sinner, the atonement he made could not have 
availed in behalf of others. But when he was perfectly free 
from the pollution of sin, his sufferings and death could, as they 
are, be made over to those who believe in his name, so that we 
are now justified by the redemption he has wrought out, and can 
hopefully and joyfully sing, 

“ My faith looks up to thee, 

Thou Lamb of Calvary, 

Savior divine. 

Now hear me while I pray : 

Take all my guilt away; 

0, let me from this day, 

Be wholly thine.” 


THE CHURCH. 


93 


CHRIST THE CORNER-STONE. 


REV. J. VOGT, D. D., DELAWARE, 0. 


T HOU art the true foundation stone, 
Thou mighty Lord of hosts, 

And Zion trusts in thee alone, 

And thy salvation boasts. 

Amid the wind, and rain, and flood, 

Thy temple shall not fall; 

Its strength is thy redeeming blood, 

And thou art all in all. 

Elect and precious, tried and sure, 

From age to age the same; 

Our souls shall rest in thee alone, 

And glory in thy name. 

0, fill us with thy light and love ! 

And keep us to the last, 

That we with thee may dwell above, 
When storms and floods are past. 


CHRIST THE LOVELIEST. 


“He is altogether lovely .”—Song of Solomon. 



OVELY is evening’s soft twilight; 
Lovely is heaven’s meek starlight; 
Lovely are flowers in the sunlight— 
But Christ is the loveliest of all. 


Loving is father and mother; 

Loving is sister and brother; 

Loving are friends to each other— 

But Christ is more loving than all. 

Love on the earth 
What is purest and nearest— 

Love that above 

Which your faith can see clearest— 

But oh! love your Savior, 

The tend’rest and dearest; 

For he is most loving and loveliest of all. 

— Harbaugh. 









JESUS CHRIST ABOVE ALL. 



HERE IS a man whose tomb is guarded by love T 
there is a man whose sepulchre is not only glorious,,, 
as a prophet declared, but whose sepulchre is loved. 
There is a man whose ashes, after eighteen centu¬ 
ries, have not grown cold; who daily lives again in 
the thoughts of an innumerable multitude of men; 
who is visited in his cradle by shepherds and kings 
who vie with each other in bringing him gold, and frankin¬ 
cense and myrrh. There is a man whose steps are unwearidly 
trodden by a large portion of mankind, and who, although no 
longer present, is followed by that throng in all the scenes of 
his bygone pilgrimage, upon the knees of his mother, by the 
borders of the lakes, to the tops of the mountains, in the 
byways of the valleys, under the shade of the olive trees, in 
the still solitude of the deserts. There is a man, dead and 
buried, whose sleep and whose waking have ever eager 
watchers, whose every word still vibrates and produces more 
than love, produces virtues fructifying in love. There is a 
man who, eighteen centuries ago, was nailed to a gibbet, and 
whom millions of adorers daily detached from this throne of 
his suffering and kneeling before him, prostrating themselves 
as low as they can without shame, there, upon the earth they 
kiss his bleeding feet with unspeakable ardor. There is a 
man who was scourged, killed, crucified, Avhom an ineffable 
passion raises from death and infamy, and exalts to the glory 
of love unfailing which finds in him peace, honor, joy and 
ecstacy. There is a man pursued in his sufferings and in hi& 
tomb of undying hatred, and who, demanding apostles and 
martyrs from all posterity, finds apostles and martyrs in all 
generations. There is a man, in fine, and one only, who has- 
founded his love upon earth, and that man is thyself, O Jesus,, 
who hast been pleased to baptise me, to anoint me, to conse¬ 
crate me in thy love, and whose name alone now opens my 
very heart, and draws from it those accents which overpower 
me and raise me above myself. 









TIIE CHURCH. 


95 

Who is loved among great men? Who? Name me even 
one; name me a single man who has died and left love upon 
his tomb. Mahomet is venerated by Musselmans; he is not 
loved. No feeling of love has ever touched the heart of a 
Mussulman repeating his maxim: kt God is God, and Mahomet 
is his prophet.” One man alone has gathered from all ages a 
love which never fails; Jesus Christ is the sovereign Lord of 
hearts as he is of minds, and by a grace, confirmatory of that 
which belongs only to him, he has given to his saints also the 
privilege of producing in men a pious and faithful remem¬ 
brance.— Lacordaire. 

To-day the great question that is stirring men’s thoughts to 
their depths is, who is Jesus Christ His life is becoming to 
us a new life, as if we had never seen a word of it. There is 
round about us an influence so penetrating, so subtle and so 
mighty, that we are obliged to ask the great, heaving world of 
to-day to be silent, for a while, that we may see just what we 
are, and where we are. That influence is the life of Jesus 
Christ. We cannot get clear of it. We hear it in times of 
joy; we feel it stealing over us in the darkness of sorrow; we 
see it where we least expect it. Even men who have traveled 
farthest from it seem only to have come around to it again.— 
Ecce Deus. 


JESUS IN THE STORM. 


REV. J. VOGT, D. D., DELAWARE, 0. 


W E sail amidst the storm’s loud wail, 

On the rough and boist’rous sea; 
The stoutest hearts here faint and fail, 
And bent is every knee. 

We hear the fearful thunder-crash, 

And the waves’ most dismal roar, 

As angrily they smite and lash, 

The distant trembling shore. 






96 


THE CHURCH. 


This is a stormy, fearful night, 

There is danger on the deep; 

The sea is raging in its might, 

See how the billows leap! 

Our ship is helpless, hear her groan, 
While on these billows toss’d; 

Yet louder grows the storm’s wild moan, 
Ah, comrades, we are lost! 

O Master, Master! Jesus hear! 

Rise up, stretch forth thy hand, 

“Save, or we perish,” Master, dear! 

Do thou the storm command. 

Thou art the mighty Lord who saves, 

All things obey thy will; 

Then say, ye raging mountain waves, 
And howling storm be still. 

Now through the murky, stormy sky, 
Beams down the cheering light, 

And here below and up on high, 

Oh, what a peaceful sight! 

We safely now our way pursue, 

And onward fast we glide ; 

We’ve Canaan’s shores in joyful view, 
And Jesus at our side. 


THE REAL CHRIST OR RONE. 



REV. JOHN VOGT, D. D., DELAWARE, 0. 


AN IS as really conscious of his need of a Savior, 
as he is of his dependence upon a higher- power, 
and is as certain to seek the one as the other. Our 
inquiry, therefore, is not whether he needs a 
Savior, nor whether he will seek one, but only 
whether he will seek the Savior whom his moral 
necessities demand, and whom the all wise Father 
has graciously provided. This is paramount and vital. In his 
fallen state man is totally perverted and ruined, and, unless 
aided and directed from above, is certain to seek his salvation 









THE CHURCH. 


97 

in the creatures of his own fancy, rather than in “him that is 
true.” There is but one true God, and, therefore, but one true 
Savior, and to trust in any other is as sinful and vain as to 
trust in an idol. We need, and must have the real Christ or 
none. 

Sin is an evil of fearful magnitude. Like the simoon of the 
desert it blights and scorches everything it touches, and leaves 
only barrenness and death in its track, so that in our inquiries 
concerning it we are everywhere brought face to face with 
misery and desolation. By separating man from God it has 
brought in the reign of darkness and death, and has turned the 
world’s harmonies into discord and confusion. The penitent 
transgressor knows its power, and humbly cries to God for 
mercy, and the impenitent have equally clear evidences of its 
power in their unbelief, blindness and obduracy. View the 
world’s ruined empires, and listen to the unceasing wail of its 
suffering millions, and then inquire what the end of all this 
must be, and the infallible answer will be, “The wages of sin is 
death.” And the saddest phase of this terrible fact is that 
man cannot recover himself, and that beneath the outraged 
throne of God there is no possible remedy for the evil that is 
destroying him. Everything he produces and does is like him¬ 
self, and carries in its bosom the elements of its own defeat 
and destruction. He is like one hopelessly lost in the desert, 
who, by every effort he puts forth but hastens him to his sad 
end; or like the doomed aeronaut, who, far above the clouds, 
clings to the rigging of his burning balloon. From the fall of 
man down to the incarnation of the Son of God, aside from 
the divine promise of a Savior and the struggling of God’s 
feeble church, the history of the world presents little else than 
a horrible moral nightmare. The heathen world had to learn 
its absolute helplessness in the school of its own defeats and 
misery, and by the scattered rays from the Church of God, 
struggling through the stormy and murky night of its errors 
and sins. And even with God’s ancient people this negative 
preparatory process, along with the positive and direct divine 
work of preparation, is clearly apparent, so at last the Jews 
and Gentiles, like the shepherds and Magi, might bow down at 
the manger of the Prince of Peace. The demands of God’s 
justice must be satisfied, and the purity and honor of his gov- 


98 


THE CHURCH. 


ernment be maintained, the power of darkness be 'broken, sini 
be atoned for, and the sinner renewed and cleansed, justified, 
and sanctified, be restored to God, and all this can be effected 
only through the sinless divine-human person, the Son of God. 

The Savior whom our necessities demand, and whom the 
world through the ages was striving to find, is clearly revealed, 
in the way of promise and hope, in the Old Testament. We 
need not search here for isolated types and prophecies, as the 
entire book and the dispensation to which it more intimately 
belonged, is a prophecy of Christ, and proclaims him as truly 
and clearly as the morning star does the rising sun. “O fools, 
and slow of heart to believe,” said Jesus, ‘‘all that the prophets 
have spoken.” “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, 
and to enter into his glory ? And beginning at Moses and all the 
prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the 
things concerning himself.” There are many types, shadows 
and prophecies, clearly pointing to the incarnation and birtli 
of Christ, the constitution of his person, his sufferings and 
victory, and the establishment, progress and glory of his King¬ 
dom, all of which, separately and unitedly, declare him to be 
the Savior of the world. Every passage that states or explains 
the misery of man, and warns him against the delusions and 
the doom of sin; every call to repentance and reformation; 
every presentation of God’s holiness and righteous judgments; 
every demand for satisfaction to violated justice; and every 
offer of mercy and forgiveness; together with all the revela¬ 
tions of God by his providence and Spirit, either directly or 
indirectly, set forth the necessity for Christ’s redemptive 
work, and certify that he is the only way to God and heaven. 
And surely, as the substance can not be less real than its 
shadow, and the fulfillment less real than its prophecy, Christ 
cannot be less real than all that went before him to prepare 
the way for his coming and kingdom. 

The star-bestrewed night of promise has passed away, and 
the day of salvation has come, and in the bright heaven of 
God’s truth and mercy we have seen “the Sun of Righteous¬ 
ness arise with healing in his wings.” “We have found him,, 
of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write.”' 
“Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the 
world.” We look, wonder and adore. His unique person and 


THE CHURCH. 


99 

character; his glory and humiliation; his profoundness and 
simplicity; his power and helplessness; and his triumph amidst 
tears, blood and death, astonish and overwhelm the heart. 
The New Testament is the fulfillment of the old, and Jesus 
Christ is the centre and glory of both, so that we now can see, 
with uncovered eyes, the significance of these mysterious and 
seemingly contradictory facts. Jesus is our brother, u born of 
the Virgin Mary.” His whole life, from the manger to the 
tomb, is a testimony of this truth. Waking and sleeping, 
weeping and praying, and suffering and dying, he is one of us. 
Everywhere and in everything he is so perfectly natural, or 
truly human, that we can scarcely expect anything else. AVe 
look again, and all is changed. Although he is born and dies 
like all others, he is begotten of God, and rises from death by 
divine power; and, although he is the poorest of all, angels 
proclaim his coming, and in triumph attend him back to the 
throne of his Father. The tempest and waves of the sea, the 
most inveterate diseases, the power of devils, and even death 
itself, obey his voice. Yes, after all, “This is the true God, 
and eternal life”: the Godman. And throughout all his mani¬ 
festations his absolute innocence and sinlessness can not fail 
to attract our deepest interest. He is born of a sinful race, 
and is “made sin for us, and yet he knows no sin.” He is 
rejected, despised and hated; betrayed and murdered, but not 
an evil thought or deed is discernible, and only love and 
mercy are brought to view. Our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, 
and he only, possesses- all the qualifications necessary to be 
our Redeemer and Savior, which the justice of God and our 
necessities demand. In his person the same nature that sin¬ 
ned also suffered for sin; as he was sinless the sacrifice he 
offered was perfect, and by the power of his Godhead he tri¬ 
umphed over both sin and death. Upon this unchangeable and 
immovable rock rests his own solemn declaration, U I am the 
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, 
but by me.” 

A noted infidel once confessed: “Socrates died like a philos¬ 
opher, but Jesus Christ died like a god,” and he who drew 
forth this confession, has left us the precious declaration, “I 
am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for 
evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” 


THE CHURCH. 


100 

He is now upon the throne of a boundless empire, “King of 
kings, and Lord of lords,” and is gloriously carrying forward 
what he begun in poverty and sorrow and suffering here below. 
u This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, 
which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there sal¬ 
vation in any other: for there is none other name under 
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” 
u Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him 
a name which is above every name: That at the name of 
Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things 
in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue 
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God 
the Father.” 

“My hope is built on nothing less 
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; 

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, 

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. 

On Christ the solid rock I stand, 

All other ground is sinking sand.” 


RATIONALISTIC OBJECTION TO THE DIVINITY OF 
CHRIST ANSWERED. 



F IT were a question of human events only, say 
the rationalists, such as those of which the ordi¬ 
nary annals of nations are composed, it is man¬ 
ifest that the life of Jesus Christ‘contained in the 
gospels would be beyond all discussion. But in 
that life it is a question of events which bear no 
comparison with those we habitually witness. It 
is a question of a God who made himself man, 
who died and rose again; how is it possible for us 
to admit such strange things upon a mass of human evidence? 
For, in fine, public writings, public events, the public and gen¬ 
eral web of history, all this assemblage of proofs is purely 
human, and it is upon this mortal foundation that you base a 
history where all is superhuman. The base must evidently 
sink under such a weight. 












THE CHURCH. 


101 


I do not undervalue the force of this objection. Yes; I 
understand that when it is a question of the history of a God 
it needs another pen than that which tracer the history of the 
greatest man in the world; this is true. But I also believe 
that God has solved this objection by creating for his only 
Son, Jesus Christ, a history which is not human, that is to say, 
which, in its proportions, is so much above the nothingness of 
man, that the ordinary power of history would evidently not 
have sufficed for it. Where, indeed, will you find such a con¬ 
nection as that of the Jewish people, Jesus Christ and the 
church ? Where is there anything to be compared to it ? And, 
moreover, where, among all the histories known to you, do 
you find any, which for three centuries had witnesses, who 
gave to it the testimony of their blood ? Where are the wit¬ 
nesses who have given their lives in favor of the authenticity 
of the greatest events? Who died to certify the history 
of Alexander? Who died to certify the history of Caesar? 
Who? No one. No one in the world has ever shed his 
blood to add another degree of evidence to the historical 
certainty of anything whatever. Men leave history to take 
its course. But to form it with their blood, to cement histor¬ 
ical testimony with human blood for three centuries, is what 
has never been witnessed save on the part of Christians for 
Jesus Christ. We were interrogated during three centuries, 
and asked to declare who we were; we answered, Christians. 
They then said to us, blaspheme the name of Christ; and we 
replied, we are Christians. They put us to death for this in 
frightful tortures; and in the hands of our executioners our 
last sigh exhaled,-as a balm for the dying and a testimony for 
living to all eternity, the name of Jesus Christ. We did not 
die for opinions, but for realities; the very name of martyrs 
proves it; and Pascal has well said. “ I believe in witnesses 
who give the testimony of their blood.” And, although there 
may be presumption in attempting to speak better than Pas¬ 
cal, I shall, however, say something better; I believe in the 
human race dying for its faith. 

Shall I give you another sign which shows the elevation of 
Jesus Christ, in history, above all histoiy? Tell me which 
among the ancient people of the world, the most celebrated in 
your eyes, has left guardians upon its tomb to protect its his- 


THE CHURCH. 


102 

tory? Where are the survivors of the Assyrians, the Medes 
the Greeks, the Romans? Where are they? What defunct 
people renders te^imony to its life? One alone, the Jewish 
people, at the same time dead and living, a relic of the ancient 
world in the new, and a self-accusing witness in favor of 
Christ—by the Jews crucified—God has preserved them for us 
as an irreproachable witness. I produce them, they are there. 
Behold them. The blood is in their hands. * * * 

I conclude: to deny the historical reality of the life of Jesus 
Christ, is an act of folly, an act of desperation. And you 
wonder, perhaps, why this has been done, directly or indi¬ 
rectly, with or without precaution. It is, because the histor¬ 
ical reality of Jesus Christ once admitted, or taken for 
granted, the sentiment of his divinity begins to show in the 
mind, and it is difficult not to yield more or less. It was 
necessary to gather clouds around an existence so remarkable, 
connected, moreover, with so many things which are remark¬ 
able also. Were the result of negotiation only to call forth 
proof of the fact, it would already have provoked discussion, 
and discussion is of value on unattackable ground; its pres¬ 
tige seems to be thereby lessened. It is better, in fine, to 
attempt something than to remain inactive. Then, hatred 
blinds, it renders the vision insensible to the clearest evidence,, 
and, in this sense, it was fitting that the historical reality of 
Jesus Christ should be attacked, as a proof of the intellectual 
diminution of those who became his enemies. Truth gains by 
the attacks of the mind as by those of the body; and tranquil 
in the inaccessible eyrie where God has placed her, sure of 
herself, however she may be attacked, she can say to man,, 
imitating a celebrated line: 

“ Contest , if thou canst; and if thou dar'st, consent r ” 

— Lacordaire . 


HOLY BAPTISM. 


REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


w 



^ OLY BAPTISM and the Lord’s Supper are the two 
sacraments in the Christian Church, instituted by 
Christ, the head of the church; the latter just 
8| before his death, and the former before his ascension 
into heaven. These ordinances stand closely related 
to each other, and subserve important ends in the 
church as means of grace. Baptism, being the rite 
t of initiation into the church, comes first in the 
order of time, so that no one unbaptised should be admitted 
to the holy communion. It is to be administered only once, 
as it is the sign of our reception into the favor and covenant 
of God, which remains valid and in force during the whole 
life, and needs not to be repeated as in the case of the Lord’s 
Supper, in which there is a remembrance of the sufferings and 
death of Christ, together with a participation in the benefits 
thereof, and is, therefore, to be observed whenever the occa¬ 
sion presents itself. And if it should occur, as is lamentably 
too often the case, that one who has been baptized falls from 
the favor of God, and loses his standing in the church, sad as 
it is, he does not need a new baptism to secure his restoration, 
but a sincere and hearty repentance of sin. As a man is and 
only can be born once in the spiritual as in the natural world, 
the sign of his ingrafting into Christ is fully signified and set 
forth in the one single act of his baptism. 

There are two things to be considered in all sacraments—the 
outward and inward—the visible and invisible—the earthly 
and spiritual—the sign and the thing signified, which accords 
with the definition ordinarily given of a sacrament, which is 
the outward sign of an invisible grace. In baptism the out¬ 
ward and visible sign is water.; the invisible, the spiritual and 
heavenly, the promise of grace and eternal life through Jesus 
Christ. These ordinarily go together in the lawful use of bap- 













THE CHURCH. 


104 

tism, so that those who observe it according to the command 
of Christ, are made the recipients of the blessings signified 
and sealed thereby. 

As thus viewed baptism is a washing with water in the name 
of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and signifies that we are 
all by nature sinful and unholy, and need to be cleansed and 
purified by the blood and Spirit of Christ, before we can be 
admitted into the favor and fellowship of God, and become 
members of the household of faith, according to what we are 
taught in the gospel where it is said, “Except a man be born of 
water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of 
God.” 

The true meaning and signification of baptism is, therefore^ 
a declaration and promise on the part of God that he will be 
merciful and gracious to all who repent and believe on his 
Son Jesus Christ, whilst those who accept the proffered grace,, 
make an open confession of his name and religion, and bind 
themselves to a life of holy obedience to all his commands. 
To make more of baptism than a means of grace through which 
God gives the comforting assurance to those who are in covenant 
with him, that they are pardoned and cleansed by the blood 
of Christ from the filth and pollution of sin, as the body is 
externally washed with water, ft has well been said, “is to go 
beyond and therefore against the gospel. It is to attempt to 
increase the quality of its pure wine, by adding water to it; to 
try to enhance the value of gold by mixing it wdth dross. By 
such human devices both the wine and the gold are spoiled, 
just as superstition and false philosophy have turned the true 
blessing of baptism into a curse—its bread into a stone, and 
its egg into a scorpion.” 

That baptism is binding upon all who desire to be the 
followers of Christ, is evident both from the teaching of the 
Bible and the practice of the church in all ages. When Peter 
preached on the day of Pentecost to the immense crowd that 
had gathered on the occasion, many were convicted of their 
sins, and led to ask what they must do to be saved, whereupon 
he said, “Repent and be baptised every one of you in the 
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall 
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” From this we may learn 
that it is the imperative duty of every one desiring to be saved 


THE CHURCH. 


105 


to submit to the ordinance of Holy Baptism as one of the 
explicit requirements of the gospel. No one has a right to 
neglect, or set it aside as an ordinance of little or no impor¬ 
tance, as though he could be saved independent of it. Had 
any of the three thousand converted on the day of Pentecost 
refused to comply with the command of Peter, he would, 
without doubt, have been debarred from the privileges of the 
church, and been regarded as having no part or lot in the 
blessings of the new covenant. 

Nor is this a single, isolated instance, but the invariable rule 
and custom of the apostles and their associates, who always 
immediately baptized those who professed faith in Christ as 
their Savior, as in the case of the Ethiopian Eunuch, the 
household of Stephanas, Lydia, Cornelius, the Jailer, &c. The 
Scriptures are indeed so plain upon this subject, that no one 
desirious of knowing what is his duty can be ignorant in refer¬ 
ence to it, as it is only he who believes and is baptized that 
has the promise of salvation. 

As to the proper mode and subjects of baptism, of which 
there has been and is still much discussion, the reader is refer¬ 
red to the articles that immediately follow. 


THE MODE OF BAPTISM. 



REV. J. A. KELLER, A. M., RANDOLPH, 0. 


word 


4PTISM IS an ordinance of God. The mode of 
its administration may not be essential to its 
efficacy. Yet it becomes us to inquire after the 
proper outward form, by searching the Scriptures; 
for these are the rule to which Christian faith and 
practice must conform. We should hold to that 
mode of baptism which is most in accord with the 
of God. That mode we believe to be sprinkling, or 


pouring. 

II. We first notice those passages of Scripture which some 
hold to be opposed to our view. 

8 











THE CHURCH. 


106 

John and the disciples of Jesus, probably, baptized by the 
same mode, although John’s baptism was not yet Christian 
baptism, (Comp. Acts xix. 1-7.) Matthew says (iii. 1-6) he 
baptized “in Jordan;” Mark (i. 4, 5) that he baptized “in the 
wilderness” and “in the river of Jordan.” This word in 
never means into. It tells us where, but not how John bap¬ 
tized. If he went in only to his ankles, he went as truly into, 
as if he went to a greater depth. 

When Jesus had been baptized “he straightway came up 
out of the water.” It does not say from under. The word 
translated out of, only means from, away from, and not out 
of. (See any Greek grammar.) The Evangelists, therefore, 
only say that Jesus came away from the water. This agrees 
with veiy ancient paintings, where John appears, standing on 
the river’s bank, and pouring the water upon the person being 
baptized. It also agrees with the Old Testament of which 
John was a minister, and which knows of sprinkling only as 
the mode of purification. But why did John preach in the 
wilderness, along the Jordan ? We answer. Not to immerse 
there, but because it was prophesied (Isa. xl. 3) that he should 
be “the voice of one crying in the wilderness,” etc. The wil¬ 
derness was emblematic of the condition of the people. 
Therefore John had to fulfill his mission in that dreary region. 
But was he not afterward “baptizing at Enon, near to Salim, 
because there was much water there?” Yes, but the Jordan 
had more water. The word Enon means springs, and much 
water, is in the original, many waters. It might be translated, 
“John was baptizing at the springs, near to Salim, because 
there were many waters i. e., streams of water there.” Hence 
there was a supply of fresh water and of grass for the com¬ 
fort of the multitudes who came to hear him. So Jesus fed 
the 5,000 where “ there was much grass in the place.” We see 
how John and Jesus cared for the comfort of the people. 
This brought John to Enon. 

Of Philip and the Eunuch we read (Acts viii. 38, 39), 
“They went down both into the water, both Philip and the 
Eunuch.” (How far they went in we are not told.) “And he 
baptized him.” (There is no intimation how it was done.) 
“And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of 
the Lord caught Philip away.” Probably there was little 


THE CHURCH. 


107 

water, as it was in a desert way and by the way side; but, 
however this be, it is plain that these accounts do not relate 
how baptism was administered, least of all that it was by 
immersion. This will become plainer from two considerations: 
First, the Eunuch was reading the prophecy concerning the 
suffering Savior, which begins with Isa. lii. 13, and where the 
cleansing power of those sufferings for the removal of sin is 
expressed under the form of sprinkling—“ So shall he sprinkle 
many nations.” In the face of this text Philip would not ad¬ 
minister baptism—a sign of that same cleansing—otherwise 
than by sprinkling. Secondly, we do not read that John or 
the apostles ever went to the water to baptize. John was at 
the Jordan and there baptized. Cornelius was evidently bap¬ 
tized in his own house; the jailer of Philippi, in prison, and 
Saul, in the house of Ananias. We should find some intima¬ 
tion of going to the water, if such had been their mode. 

Let us now consider Rom. vi. 3, “ Know ye not that so many 
of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his 
death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into 
death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the 
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness 
of life,” (Comp. Col. ii. 12). 

This goes beyond mode, and gives the very substance of 
baptism. We are baptized “into Christ,” “into his death,” by 
baptism buried with him into death. Our Savior’s baptism 
was a consecration to that life of suffering and death for us, 
leading through the grave to a glorified life beyond. So our 
baptism is a consecration. We are to renounce sin, crucify 
the flesh, and die unto the world; but as Christ was raised by 
the glory of the Father, so we are to walk in newness of life. 
Whatever the mode be, baptism has this meaning. This being 
the case, these passages are not in conflict with our mode, 
much less do they establish immersion. 

III. Other statements of the New Testament Scriptures 
require our attention. 

Pentecost. On this day about 3,000 were added to the 
church by baptism. If we give due weight to the facts re¬ 
corded by Luke (Acts ii.) we will see that not enough time re¬ 
mained that day, neither would the strength of the apostles 
have been sufficient, nor is it possible that such a quantity of 


THE CHURCH. 


108 

water was at hand, that this multitude could have been 
immersed. The only reasonable inference is that they were 
baptized by sprinkling before they left the house. 

Cornelius. (Acts x. 48.) When Cornelius and his house¬ 
hold believed and had received the Holy Ghost, Peter said r 
“Can any man forbid water that these should not be bap¬ 
tized,” etc. This language strongly intimates that water was 
taken, and they baptized with it, in the house where they 
were. 

The jailer at Philippi. (Acts xvi. 25-37.) Since Paul 
ref used to leave the prison until the magistrates came and led 
him out, it is clear that the baptism took place within the 
prison, where it is highly improbable that sufficient water for 
immersing was at hand. Such provision would seldom be 
found in prisons of our day; how much less in that age, when 
such prisoners were cruelly beaten, being uncondemned (verse 
37) and in their blood were thrust into the inner prison and 
and into the stocks. 

Saul. (Acts ix. 19; xxii. 16.) Saul had been “three days 
without sight, neither did he eat nor drink,” when Ananias 
laid his hands on him and he was restored, and having told 
Saul that he should be “ a witness to all men,” he said, “And 
now, why tarriest thou ? Arise and be baptized,” etc., and he 
“ arose and was baptized.” “And when he had received meat 
he was strengthened.” This shows that he was in great weak¬ 
ness, and only arose when Ananias asked it of him. The 
causes of Saul’s weakness are manifest. He was near the end 
of his journey, doubtless hungry and tired, when he was smit¬ 
ten to the ground, and then remained three days without eat¬ 
ing and drinking. The vision must have unnerved him, and 
his state of mind was most prostrating of all. He thought to 
do God service and suddenly found himself fighting against 
God. Famished, blind, conscience-smitten, troubled, he 
became weak as a child. He only rose to his feet, when 
told to do so, in order to be baptized. And “he arose (stood 
up) and was baptized.” Doubtless he was baptized as he 
stood before Ananias, the water being sprinkled or poured 
upon him. 

With water. Baptism is to be with water. John says 
(Matt. iii. 11) “I indeed baptize you with water,” and Jesus 


THE CHURCH. 


109 


(Acts i. 5) “ For John truly baptized with water.” To baptize 
with water is to take water and apply it to the person by 
sprinkling or pouring. Immersion is to take the person and 
applying it to (dip it into) the water; it is not baptizing with 
but into water. 

The word baptize. Many words are used in widely differ¬ 
ing senses. So the Greek word “to baptize.” We must, 
therefore, inquire in what sense our Savior and his apostles 
used it. In that sense it becomes also us to use it. Jesus, 
immediately before his ascension, said to his disciples (Acts i. 
•5) “John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized 
with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” All admit that 
Jesus here meant the giving of the Holy Ghost on the day of 
Pentecost, which took place ten days later. We are not left 
in doubt what the mode of this baptism was. It was not im¬ 
mersion, but pouring. “I will pour out of my Spirit upon all 
flesh.” “ He has shed forth this which ye now see and hear.” 
“The Holy Ghost fell on them,” (Acts ii. 17, 33; xi. 15.) 

Further is the passage of the Red Sea, called a baptism 
(I. Cor. x. 1, 2) * * * All our fathers were * * * 

baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” But the 
Israelites went over upon dry ground (Ex. xiv. 21, 22.) 
There could be no immersion here; but “the clouds poured 
out water” (Ps. lxxvii. 14-20) and thus may they by sprink¬ 
ling have been baptized unto Moses. Similar remarks apply 
to the saving of Noah in the ark (I. Peter iii. 21.) These pas¬ 
sages show how Jesus and his apostles understood the word 
baptize. 

III. We now direct attention to the fact that the Old and 
New Testaments agree in making sprinkling the sign for 
•cleansing and forgiveness of sins. The blood of the paschal 
lamb is sprinkled on the door posts of the houses to save the 
first-born (Ex. xii. 7, comp. I. Cor. v. 7). The blood of the 
peace offering is sprinkled on the altar and on the people 
(Ex. xxiv. 6-8.) The “water of separation” is sprinkled on 
the unclean person, and thus he becomes clean (Num. xix. 
11-22; comp. Heb. x. 22; xii. 24; I. Peter i. 2.) 

In harmony herewith are the declarations of the prophets. 
Isaiah says of the Messiah (lii. 15) “So shall he sprinkle 
many nations.” Ezekiel says (xxxvi. 24, 25) “I will take 


THE CHURCH. 


110 

you from among the heathen and gather you out of all coun¬ 
tries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I 
sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean.’ 
These prophecies refer to the Christian era. Isaiah beholds 
the ingathering of the Gentiles, Ezekiel the conversion of 
the Jews. But by baptism all these are to be received into 
the church of Christ. Moses and the prophets know only of 
sprinkling as the mode by which the forgiveness of sin is 
signified. Jesus and his apostles use the word baptize in 
that sense. And u holy men of God wrote as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost.” We, therefore, affirm that 
sprinkling is the Scriptural mode of baptism. 

We add two questions: 

1. Since, in the Lord’s Supper, a little bread and wine are 
called a supper, and signifying the feeding of the soul, 
should it be surprising that a little water sprinkled be called 
a washing, and signify the cleansing of the soul ? 

2. Which is more in accord with the spirit of Christ, with 
the great body of immersionists to reject baptism by 
sprinkling, and refuse to recognize its adherents as part of 
the church of Christ, or, with the latter, to give prominence 
to the substance of baptism, and cultivate charity toward all 
who love the Lord Jesus? 


THE SUBJECTS OF BAPTISM. 



REV. J. J. LEBERMAN, A. M., LOUISVILLE, 0. 


E MEAN by the Subjects of Baptism the persons 
who are entitled to this blessed sacrament, or, in 
other words, we desire to answer the question, who 
is to be baptized? On the day of Pentecost when 
Peter had so powerfully presented to the multi¬ 
tude the enormity of their sins and the sad condi¬ 
tion in which they were, they were pricked in their hearts and 
asked, “Men and brethren what shall we do?” Peter answered, 
“Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of 
Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the 









THE CHURCH. 


Ill 


gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to 
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the 
Lord our God shall call.” (Acts ii:38, 39.) In this reply of 
the apostle we have the question answered, both as to the 
design and subjects of baptism. It includes adults and 
children. 

So far as adults are concerned, the reception of baptism 
must be an intelligent, voluntary act, in which there is a sin¬ 
cere repentance of sin, a profession of faith in our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and a solemn covenant in which the individual promis¬ 
es full and complete allegiance to Christ as Lord and King. 
Upon this there is little difference of opinion. It is with refer¬ 
ence to the baptism of children that there is a controversy— 
many denying them the right of this sacrament. To the dis¬ 
cussion of this subject the remainder of this article will be 
limited. 

To the question, “Are infants also to be baptized?” the 
Heidelberg Catechism answers, “Yes, for since they as well as 
the adults are included in the covenant and church of God; 
and since redemption for sin by the blood of Christ and the 
Holy Ghost, the author of faith, is promised to them no less 
than to the adult, they must therefore by baptism, as a sign of 
the covenant, be also admitted into the Christian church; and 
be distinguished from the children of infidels; as was done 
in the old covenant or testament by circumcision, instead of 
which baptism was instituted in the new covenant.” This is a 
plain and explicit answer, breathing forth the spirit of the 
Scriptures and of our divine Master, who said with conde¬ 
scending kindness, “Suffer the little children to come unto me 
and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.” 

In order to present the subject in its clearest light, we will 
first remove the objections commonly made to infant baptism, 
and then present the positive arguments in favor of infants as 
members of the church, and consequently proper subjects of 
baptism. 

I. The most common objection is: “Infants cannot exercise 
faith, therefore they ought not to be baptized.” The burden of 
proof lies with the objector to show that they cannot exercise 
faith. Christ says that they do, and we are willing to accept 
the words of him who knew “what was in man,” rather than 


112 


THE CHURCH. 


of him who contradicts the plain statement of the Savior when 
he says: “And whoso shall receive one such little child in my 
name receiveth me, but whoso shall offend one of these little 
ones which believe in me, it were better that a millstone were 
hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth 
of the sea.” (Matt. xviii:5, 6.) If this objection is valid 
no child can be saved, for “he that believeth not shall be 
damned.” 

II. What do infants know about baptism? What good 
does this sprinkling of babies do? No objection seems more 
simple than this. It is made by those who are ignorant of the 
meaning and design of a sacrament, (which is not man’s act 
toward God, but God’s act towards man,) and who know not 
the power and grace of God. Can not God in his infinite 
goodness sign and seal to infants their adoption without their 
conscious knowledge? We might ask, in return, what did the 
Jewish infants, eight days old, know when they received cir¬ 
cumcision, which was “the seal of the righteousness of the f aitli 
he had ?” And yet God solemnly commanded that these chil¬ 
dren should be circumcised. Infants in the old economy were 
received into covenant with God, and most assuredly that 
blessing has not been lost to them in the new and better econ¬ 
omy of grace. Here are a few passages of Scripture to prove 
it: “I will establish my covenant between me and thee and 
thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting 
covenant: to be a God unto thee and thy seed after thee.” 
(Gen. xvii:7.) “You stand this day, all of you. before the 
Lord your God, * * * * ' and your little ones * 

* * that thou slialt enter into covenant with the 

Lord thy God,” &c. (Deut. xxix:10, 11.) In Numbers iii:28, 
we read, “In the number of all the'males from a month old 
and upwards were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping 
charge of the Sanctuary.” These were infant Levites—what 
did they know about “keeping the charge of the Sanctuary ?” 
No more and no less than infants know about baptism. Once 
more. “Blow the trumpet in Zion, call a solemn assembly, 
gather the people * * * * gather the children 

and those that suck at the breast,” &c. (Joel ii:15, 16.) 
What did these children and those that suck at the breast 
know about an assembly feast, Ac., to which God commanded 


THE CHURCH. 113 

them to be called as well as adults. Just as much as infants 
know about'baptism. 

III. Another objection frequently made is: “There is no 
direct command to baptize infants.” There was no need of 
this. They were members of the covenant and church of 
God. This membership was never annulled and they were 
entitled to baptism, “for the promise is to you and your 
children.” There are many other practices of the church 
which have no direct command for their authority. There is, 
however, just as implicit command to baptize infants as 
adults. “Go ye therefore and teach (make disciples) all 
nations,” &c. “Repent and be baptized every one of you, for 
the promise is unto you and your children, and to all who are 
afar off,” &c. Pray tell, where are adults mentioned in the 
command any more than infants ? Nations, as they had them 
and we have them, are composed of adults and children; and 
“every one of you,” with the explanatory clause following, is 
very explicit, including adults and infants. 

IV. “Many infants grow up irreligious and never become 
confirmed members of the church,” is another objection. 
Many adults who are baptized never become active members 
of the church either, and, therefore, according to the objector, 
we ought to refuse to baptize adults. 

Positive arguments in favor of infant baptism : 

I. By nature children are in a sinful condition, and are 
under condemnation with the whole human race. “That 
which is born of flesh is flesh.” They can only be delivered 
from this condition through the precious influences of the 
blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost—through regener¬ 
ation—without which none can enter heaven. Salvation has 
been graciously provided for infants as well as adults through 
the atonement and sacrifice of Christ. They should receive 
the appointed sign and seal of their redemption. They are 
to be baptized because Jesus has saved them. No right 
thinking person will, for a moment, call into question the 
salvation of infants. Why then should they not receive the 
sign and seal of that salvation given in baptism ? That adults 
may be fit to enter the kingdom of God, they must become 
like little children. Now, then if adults are to become, as 
children are, to be proper subjects of the kingdom, and, there- 


114 


THE CHURCH. 


fore, proper subjects for baptism, then truly children who are 
like these may and ought be baptized. 

II. Children of believing parents are entitled to church 
membership, and also to the sign and seal, or ordinance, by 
which they are distinguished from the children of infidels, as 
was the case in the Jewish Church. The conditions of enter¬ 
ing into the Old and New Testament dispensations was the 
same. The one was by faith, so also the other. The ordi¬ 
nance of circumcision was not only an outward act, but also 
a spiritual one of the heart, as is plain by many passages of 
Scripture. 

III. The idea of the family is lost sight of by those who 
deny infants the right of baptism. This idea was obtained in 
the Jewish church and was one of its glories—the family as 
entering into covenant with God. It is, and ought be held, 
the great glory of the Christian Church. The family is a 
divine institution, as it was the first church including parents 
and children. If this initiatory rite to church membership is 
denied to children then they are excluded also from the 
church. Can that be called a church that receives the par¬ 
ents and excludes the children ? That children are members 
of the church triumphant we all believe—then truly are they 
fit for the church militant. Let us not forget the mercy and 
condescension of God to the entire human family. If in the 
Old Testament children were included in this mercy and 
goodness by the promise “unto thee and thy seed,” then also 
will the new and better testament show forth greater luster 
upon the love and mercy of God. This, too, was gloriously 
depicted by the prophet Isaiah looking to the coming and 
establishment of Christ’s kingdom on earth, “Behold, the Lord 
God will come, he shall feed his flocks like a Shepherd; he 
shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his 
bosom.” What is this but a portrayal of Christ’s work on 
earth? Little children were brought unto him and he 
received them. “I am the good Shepherd.” Were the lambs 
not to be gathered into his fold, the church, to be nurtured, 
trained and protected by him who was the “Great Shepherd 
of the Sheep?” Did he not, as the Shepherd, command most 
solemnly his Apostle “feed my lambs?” What more urgent 
and glorious and promising work has the church to-day, than 


THE CKURCH. 


115 


to receive into her bosom the children by baptism, and then 
to teach them, that, U I with body and soul, both in life and 
death am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior 
Jesus Christ.” 

IY. Children are proper subjects for baptism because they 
are capable of being influenced by the Holy Ghost. This is, 
no doubt, an unconscious influence, but even so it is with 
adults. We have instances of this both in the Old and New 
Testament, as Samson, Samuel, Jeremiah and John the baptist 
before his birth. Certainly if before birth the Holy Ghost 
operates upon the child, shall he not after birth ? This is 
but in full accord with the promises of God as to the giving of 
the Spirit. “I will pour out water upon him that is thirsty; 
and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon 
thy seed and my blessing upon thine offspring.” (Is. xliv:3.) 
U I will pour out mv Spirit upon all flesh.” (Joel ii:28.) 

Y. What.was the practice of the Apostles? We unhesi¬ 
tatingly say they baptized infants. We have a number of 
instances where entire households were baptized, “Lydia and 
her household,” “the Jailer and all his,” “Stephanas and his 
household,” &c. Some attempt to deny that there were any 
infants in these households. We think this an act of redicu- 
lous desperation. When that vast host of the Israelites pass¬ 
ed through the Red Sea we are told that they were baptized, 
at least we have a clear case where thousands, both of adults 
and infants were baptized, “and they were all baptized in the 
cloud and in the sea.” It might yet be added that church 
history bears no uncertain testimony as to infant baptism. 
From the years 67-330 we find no writer who sets forth any 
opposition to infant baptism. From 354-429 in the contro¬ 
versy between Augustine and Pelagius, the latter was accus¬ 
ed of denying infant baptism, when Pelagius answered in this 
most significant language,: “Men slander me as if I denied 
the sacrament of baptism to infants; I never heard of any, 
not even the most impious heretic, who denied baptism to 
infants.” Indeed, we find no opposition to this practice until 
the twelfth century; so that we rest confidently in the assur¬ 
ance that it was practiced both by the Apostles and the 
primitive church. 


CHRISTMAS. 


REV. E. HERBRUCK, A. M., DAYTON, 0. 


HRISTMAS COMES but once a year,” sang 
Thomas Tusser, intimating that it is one of the 
happiest of our holidays, and so full of good cheer 
that we ought to enjoy it all we can. Indeed 
Christmas occupies the foremost place among all 
of our holidays, and it has bound about its brow a 
chaplet of the sweetest associations of our life, and we can 
almost as readily count up our years by Christmases as we do 
by birthdays. If Chrismas comes but once a year it comes 
quickly. On that holy morning we look backward and it 
seems but yesterday that we saw the forests ablaze in their 
coat of many colors, and the sumac wind along the fence- 
rows like a band of tire, while the roadsides were lined with 
asters and gentian, and the meadows aglow with the golden 
rod, and to-day the world lies chill, and the fields are covered 
with snow. We pile high the fuel on the tire, so that we may 
have it warm within, even though it be cold without. 

“Let us throw more logs on the tire! 

We have need of a cheerful light, 

And close round the hearth to gather, 

For the wind has risen to-night.’’ 

What is more delightful than to gather about the hearth 
when the snow lies white on the fields, and the trees are bare, 
and the sun goes down in a path of red, leaving the stars 
cold in the sky? There is a tropical atmosphere in the 
room and in the heart, even though it is winter without. We 
•doubt whether there is any season so productive of good, 
hearty cheer as this, although it comes in mid-winter, when 
the earth is stripped of green, and gold, and sunshine. 

There seems to be something in this season that lends a 
-charm to the festivities of Christmas, and which we would 
not enjoy at any other period of the year. During the sum¬ 
mer we linger without the house, but when the cold season 









THE CHURCH. 


117 


comes we are driven within. We gather about the hearth, 
and by the blazing fire seem to kindle within our hearts a 
kindlier feeling and a deeper love for home. Christmas is 
pre-eminently a home festival, though we may be fast losing 
the ancient aroma of the day. We are sorry because of the 
decline of the social side of this festival. The Christmas of 
long ago was a day when families were drawn together, when 
children and grandchildren repaired to the old homestead to 
enjoy again its cheer, and to live over again the hallowed 
associations of youth. There seemed in all this something of 
the spirit of Christ and his religion—unity, peace, love, hos¬ 
pitality. The world is at work destroying these influences 
that so firmly united kindred hearts. But this day in the 
long ago called to those widely separated, battling with the 
world, burdened with sorrows, and bowed with care, to gather 
once more about the family hearth and grow young again— 
grow purer and better and more childlike, as the hallowed 
remembrances of other Christmas seasons come back again 
with their softening influence. It is true, there is still some 
of the old sociability left, but it seems with each returning 
season to grow weaker. 

We may, however, be coming to a better and truer obser¬ 
vance of the day, in that we pay less attention to the outer, 
the festivities, and more to the inner and true spirit of the 
holy season. We look into the cheerful Christmas fire and 
seem to hear that song of old, as it rolled down over the fields 
round about Bethlehem. 

The day as it was observed by our ancestors is fast disap¬ 
pearing. We feel sorry for this in some respects, for it is the 
day, which above all others, has gathered about it all that is 
noble and bright of the festive and social phases of our life. 
Then it was a day of open house and open heart. The lord 
and peasant were on a level. The Christmas board was 
loaded, and friend and stranger were alike welcome to sit 
down and partake of it. 

It was a day too when friends gathered about the fireside 
only to forget old feuds and cement anew their friendships. 
This social, home-feature, is disappearing, and there is creep¬ 
ing over us a chill almost as great as that which reigns in the 
atmosphere without. 


THE CHURCH. 


118 

There is no season or holiday that unlocks the memory like 
this, or makes the heart so tender. Even the flinty heart of 
old Scrooge, says dear old Boz, grew soft and tender, though 
it was cold and hard as adamant, as he remembered the 
Christmas carols sang at his key-hole the night before, and 
which caused him to slide his hand into his pocket to feel for 
his wallet. If there is one day in the year when neighbors 
think kindly of each other, or when a gleam of sunshine 
steals over the miser’s heart, it is this. There seems to be in 
the atmosphere the. song “peace on earth, good will to men.” 
The old grow young again, the poor rich, the hardened soft¬ 
ened, and the hearts of all beat high with expectation of 

“The Christmas that yet shall be, 

Of undying.joy in that fadeless land, 

Where shall fall no tears through the countless years 
That are at the King’s right hand.” 

It has come again. Not the Christmas of long ago, it is 
true, but Christmas still, and we will celebrate it. We will 
sit by our fire, and let the tide of thought roll in upon our 
hearts. We will think of the Christ-child who came so many 
years ago, and is even now knocking at our hearts for 
entrance. We will think of the message of the angels, 
“Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall 
be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of 
David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” The knowledge 
of this fact only makes the day more holy to us, and helps us 
to observe it in the spirit of him who came. We will share 
in the festivities with glad yet tender hearts, as we think of 
the departed friends who, in other years, made bright the 
happy Christmas time. They are not forgotten. Forgotten 
did we say? No, to-day as we look out upon the quiet place 
of graves, where their names are chiseled in white, they come 
marching before us, and we link their names and memories 
with him who came as a precious gift to their glad hearts. 
They are not forgotten. They sit by our side. They sing the 
old songs, they speak the well remembered tender words, 
they prattle in their childish glee. No, they are not for¬ 
gotten. 

But we must never lose sight of the true meaning of 


THE CHURCH. 


119 


Christmas. It must rest ever as the background to all our 
joy and festivity. Let Christmas come. Let it be enjoyed. 
Let the home be bright and cheerful, and above all let the 
cheerful glow of a Christ-like feeling shine in our hearts, so 
that friend and stranger will see that we have the hospitable 
spirit of the great Savior who loved us. And though we 
may be homeless here, though no kind roof will admit us 
under its shelter, to share its Christmas fire, yet we know 
that beyond the snow covered graves, beyond the stars which 
shine so tranquilly to-night, we shall walk with the loved 
ones who visit us in our waking thoughts by our cheerful fire, 
and who come to us in our dreams. Thank God for this day. 
And if by our words we have cheered some heart, and have 
brought it into harmony with him whose day it is, if we have 
caused some kindly feeling to arise in any hard heart, we 
feel that we could not have given a better gift. 

Deck the walls with green and holly! 

Heap still more the Christmas fires! 

Build your castles in the embers, 

Glowing turrets, flaming spires! 

Bring the gifts of love and friendship, 

True heart-tokens let them be, 

One and all, with joyous faces, 

Gather round our Christmas tree. 

’Tis the birthday of the Christ-Child, 

For his sake we keep our feast, 

They that seek shall surely find him, 

Lo ! his star is in the East! 


CHRISTMAS SONG. 


O SING me a carol blithe and free, 

And fit for our Christmas morn ; 

For the world is as cold as the world can be, 
Though its Lord on this day was born. 

’Tis a wintry time for the rich and the poor, 

And w T ho shall be turned from a Christian’s door? 
For ’twas winter-time for the rich and poor 
When the shepherds came to the stable-door. 





120 


THE CHURCH. 


NEW YEAR’S EYE. 


R ING out, wild bells, to the wild sky, 
The flying cloud, the frosty light! 
The year is dying in the night; 

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. 

Ring out the old, ring in the new; 

Ring, happy bells, across the snow; 

The year is going, let him go; 

Ring out the false, ring in the true. 

Ring out the grief that saps the mind. 

For those that here we see no more; 

Ring out the feud of rich and poor, 

Ring in redress to all mankind. 

Ring out a slowly dying cause, 

And ancient forms of party strife; 

Ring in the nobler modes of life, 

With sweeter manners, purer laws. 

Ring out false pride in place and blood, 

The civic slander and the spite; 

Ring in the love of truth and right, 

Ring in the common love of good. 

Ring out old shapes of foul disease, 

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold ; 

Ring out the thousand wars of old, 

Ring in the thousand years of peace. 

Ring in the valiant man and free, 

The larger heart, the kindlier hand; 

Ring out the darkness of the land; 

Ring in the Christ that is to be. 


— Tennyson. 



NEW YEAR REFLECTIONS. 


REV. E. HERBRUCK, A. M., DAYTON, 0. 


IE DAYS of our years go very fast, and there is 
perhaps no time when we realize this so much 
as when the year is just completed, and we stand 
upon the threshold of the new, not knowing what 
there is in store for us. Job says, “My days are 
swifter than a weaver’s shuttle.” “My days are 
swifter than a post, they flee away. They are pass¬ 
ed away as the swift ships, as the eagle that hast- 
eth to the prey.” The experience of this servant of 
God is the experience of each of us. The days go 
circling over our heads as swiftly as the birds of passage. A 
year is a very short season. Only a pulse-beat of the count¬ 
less thousands that have passed away, and yet it is no small 
part of the time allotted us on earth. We measure our exist¬ 
ence by years, and God knows we have not so many more 
to live. 

When w r e stand at the beginning of the year and look for¬ 
ward, how long it seems. There is the dreary winter before 
us, we can scarcely wait for the sunshine of spring, then 
comes the summer, the harvest, then the autumn w T ith its 
gorgeous colors. The number of the days and hours seem to 
have no end. The joys we see before us, they too, seem to 
have no end. We cannot count the castles we have built. 
But w T hen w r e stand at the end of the year and look back, how 
short it seems. We shut our eyes as we see the ruins of our 
best laid plans, and how sad we feel as we look upon the 
graves of our friends, and find what seemed to us a pleasant 
dream turned into real sorrow. Some poet has expressed this 
very beautifully. 

“The year 

Has gone, and with it many a glorious throng 
Of happy dreams. Its mark is on each brow, 

Its shadow in each heart. In its swift course, 



9 










122 


THE CHURCH. 


It waved its scepter o’er the beautiful, 

And they are not. It laid its pallid hand 
Upon the strong man, and the haughty form 
Is fallen, and the flashing eye is dim. 

It trod the hall of revelry, where thronged 
The bright and joyous ; and the tearful wail 
Of stricken ones is heard, where erst the song 
And reckless shout resounded. 

It came and faded like a wreath of mist at eve, 

Yet, ere it melted in the viewless air, 

■ It heralded its millions to their home, 

In the dim land of dreams.” 

The New Year season is a time peculiarly fitted for reflec¬ 
tion, and we should not fail to improve it. What have we 
done in the year that is past? Have we accomplished anything 
that will help us and others? What are we going to do in 
the future? These are reasonable thoughts. And no man 
who has any desire for the salvation of his soul can help but 
inquire whether he has made any progress in the divine life. 
On this day we have all made another stage in our earthly 
pilgrimage, we have come to another mile-stone on the way, 
and we ask ourselves the question, what will befall us before 
we reach the next? Like a traveler who journeys along a 
lonely road, as he reaches every guide post asks, what will I 
meet between this and the next? so we wonder what will 
be our lot, as we journey on to the next New Y r ear. Have 
we done anything toward fulfilling our mission in the world ? 
Have the years been to us as a ladder, each round bringing 
us nearer heaven and nearer God ? Have we done any good 
deeds ? Have we helped some weary pilgrim on life’s path¬ 
way to find the right road? Have we made lighter his 
burdens ? Have we been growing in grace and in the knowl¬ 
edge of God ? Then, too, if a man has been bad, if he has 
done anything wrong during the year, if he has injured any¬ 
one, if he has spoken harsh and unkind words, memory will 
bring all before him in a terrible manner. 

If it is true, then, as Job says, that our days are hurrying 
by, that they go swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, we ought to 
improve every moment of our time, and resolve firmly that 
the next New Year will find us better than this one. The 
Old Year being gone, we cannot live it over again, we cannot 


THE CHURCH. 


123 


undo what we have done. We cannot improve the privileges 
that are gone. But, thank God, we have the opportunity of 
doing better in the coming days. Take courage, the way may 
seem dark, but the lights of heaven gleam out above your 
pathway. How wrong it is for us to misuse the time God has 
given us, and we dare not justify ourselves by saying that we 
have done nothing, for that very fact will condemn us; for 
we are required to do something, and if we have done nothing 
w T e have broken at least one half of God’s law. It was for 
doing nothing that the inhabitants of Meroz were cursed, and 
the unprofitable servant cast out into outer darkness. To do 
nothing when there is so much to do, is to do evil. Let us be 
found fully in accord with God, and labor together with him 
in all things, then the New Year will be a glad time for us. 
We need not look backward with sorrow, nor forward with 
strange forebodings. For we know that God will guide us in 
the New JYear, and with simple trust in him, and our eyes 
bent heavenward, we enter the pathway saying, 


“I know not the way I am going, 

But well do I know my guide: 

With a child-like trust do I give my hand 
To the mighty Friend by my side; 

And the only thing that I say to him, 

As he takes it, is hold it fast ; 

Suffer me not to lose the way, 

And lead me home at last.” 










THE SUFFERING SAVIOR. 


REV. S. SHAW, BL003IVILLE, 0. 


E CANNOT conceive of a Savior for humanity, 
without, at the same time, recognizing him as a 
suffering Savior. The whole burden of prophecy 
in the dim ages that preceded his advent, gave 
special prominence to this feature in his life, rep¬ 
resenting him as “a man of sorrow and acquainted 
with grief.” 

1 The entire life of the Savior upon earth was one 

of suffering. And although we know but little of that portion 
of it which preceded his public ministry, the few hints we 
have in the attempt that was made upon his life at the time 
of his birth by Herod, his flight and sojourn in Egypt, his 
extreme poverty, &c., are sufficient to show that it was a fit 
prelude to the severe and terrible sufferings which character¬ 
ized the closing period of his earthly career. 

Let us first, transfer our thoughts to the Savior as he tra¬ 
verses the banks of the Jordon, where he is pointed out as 
“the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world,” 
which accords with the prophecies that had been uttered 
respecting him as the u Lamb slain from the foundation of the 
world,” and “as a lamb led to the slaughter.” He came to 
John as “the Lamb of God,” and said, “Thus it becometh us 
to fulfill all righteousness.” By this act he voluntarily placed 
himself under the law. So that although he himself was free 
from sin, he was subject to the demands of the law and was 
treated as a sinner. No Jew who violated the law or defiled 
himself by touching any unclean thing, could come into the 
Divine presence without purification. As no one had thus 
obeyed the law the whole nation is represented by the prophet 
Haggai as being unclean before God. Hence Jesus, who was 
the true seed of Abraham, and who took upon him the very 
nature of man, of the flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary, 
came to John as the representative of depraved humanity, 










THE CHURCH. 


125 

desiring to be baptized, saying, “Thus it becomes us to fulfill 
all righteousness.’' What deep sorrow must have passed 
through his soul when he took this burden upon himself, we 
are unable to understand. No sooner, however, had he ren¬ 
dered this obedience to the law of God, than the Holy Ghost 
descended, and the voice of God is heard saying, “This is my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 

We see him next in his threefold temptation in the wilder¬ 
ness, contending with the great adversary of humanity. In 
this temptation Christ was assailed in his Prophetical, Priestly 
and Kingly character; hence the suffering in the fullness of 
his entire human nature. 

There is very little said in the gospel about the bodily suf¬ 
fering of Christ until he is brought before Pilate and Herod, 
and yet we must believe that a great portion of his sufferings 
pertained to the body, such as hunger and thirst, sleepless 
nights, fatigue from travel, climbing the steep and rugged 
mountains, by which his bodily strength was more or less 
exhausted, &c. We have, on the other hand, the sufferings of 
his soul brought to view in the sympathy which he manifested 
for those around him, as in the case of the Syrophenician 
woman, the widow of Nain, and at the grave of Lazarus, 
where he even groaned and was troubled in spirit. Then we 
have the heart of the Savior moved with such sorrow for 
Jerusalem, that we are told that “When he beheld the city he 
wept over it.” His own diciples also caused him much sor¬ 
row and pain. But how much he suffered from the ill-treat¬ 
ment of his own people, the Jews, is beyond description. 
Truly “he was a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief, 
and we hid as it were our faces from him.” “He was despised 
and we esteemed him not.”. 

But great as his sufferings were thus far, they were greatly 
intensified as we approach the Last Supper. See how his 
heart is touched with sympathy for the disciples as they con¬ 
tend for the supremacy in his kingdom. What sorrow 
touched his heart as he abases himself to the office of a menial 
servant in washing their feet. Then again what pain must 
have pierced his heart in the consciousness that one of his own 
disciples would betray him. “It was not an enemy that 
reproached me,” we hear him say, “neither was it he that hated 


THE CHURCH. 


126 

me that did magnify himself against me. But it was thou, a 
man, mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took 
sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in 
company.” Let us follow him into the garden of Gethsemane, 
where his soul was pressed to the utmost capacity. As he 
comes to the mysterious spot with his chosen disciples, he gives 
the command, “Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder.” It 
is communion with his Father that he seeks. He now pre¬ 
pares himself for the great conflict of his life. “He took with 
him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sor¬ 
rowful and very heavy.” “Then saith he unto them, My soul 
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here and 
watch with me.” It was not anything in the heart or conscience 
of the Savior, arising from what he had done, that caused 
his agony; but the burden of God’s wrath against the sins of 
the world, which he now meekly bore. And “being in an 
agony he prayed the more earnestly, and his sweat was, as it 
were, great drops of blood f ailing to the ground.” It was here 
that “he learned obedience by the things he suffered.” The 
sufferings of his soul are so intense that we are told an “angel 
appeared strengthening him.” 

Then we have his arrest, the mock trial before the high 
priest, after which he is brought before Pilate and Herod, 
where he is scourged, buffeted, crowned with thorns, and 
finally made to bear the cross to the place of execution, the 
driving of the nails in his hands and feet, his crucifixion, his 
bitter cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” 
and his last words, “ ‘Father into thy hands I commend my 
spirit,’ and having done this he gave up the ghost.” In all this 
we see him as the Suffering Savior, his sufferings reaching 
their climax in his death upon the cross. 

If we now ask what was the object for which Christ thus 
suffered and died upon the cross, the answer is, it was for the 
redemption of the world, that God might be just in justifying 
all that believe in him. When man came from the hands of 
his Creator, he was in the Divine image, which consisted in 
righteousness and true holiness. In this he stood in right 
relation to God, in harmony with his will and in obedience to 
his law. His will was merged, so to speak, in the Divine will. 
The law of God was his delight. 


THE CHURCH. 


127 

From this holy, happy state in which man was originally 
created, he fell by the instigation of the Devil and his own 
willful disobedience, so that he became sinful and fell under 
the curse of the law, from which he had no power to deliver 
himself. Hence the object for which Christ suffered was to 
fulfill in our nature the law of God, which had been broken. 
This he did in a twofold way. First, by his active obedience 
in our nature resisting temptation, and in his Father’s employ¬ 
ment saying, “I delight to do thy will, O God.” The object of 
these sufferings, in the second place, was to remove the curse 
of the broken law. This could only be done by submitting 
himself willingly, and thus let the whole burden of sin and 
the curse of the law pour out its vengeance upon him. This 
was what took place in his last sufferings during Passion-week. 
Hence the agony in the garden; the strong crying and tears; 
the scourge; the crown of thorns; the judgement seat of 
Pilate; the bearing of the cross; the crucifixion, and the cry 
of despair, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” 
&c. The object is accomplished, the atonement is made 
sinners through his blood. Redemption is completed in Christ, 
so that may now come and be reconciled to God through the 
blood of the everlasting covenant. 


THE CROSS. 


D O YOU look for rest? 
Look to the cross; 
Is your soul unblest ? 

Ask for the cross ; 
Look—love—live 
At the cross. 

Do you ever bow? 

Bow at the cross; 
Do you ever vow ? 

Vow at the cross. 
Preach—pray—prai se 
At the cross. 





128 


THE CHURCH. 


Do you ever mourn ? 

Mourn at the cross; 

Do you feel forlorn ? 

Fly to the cross; 

Sigh—seek—smile 
At the cross. 

Do you seek a home ? 

Seek at the cross; 

Vainly you roam, 

Far from the cross. 

Hope—home—heaven 
Are all at the cross. — Harbaugh. 


FIRST EASTER-EVE. 


I IS’ old Jerusalem ’twas Easter-Eve, 

But its glad joy-bells in no heart did chime, 
Nor royal pomp, nor priestly rites relieve 
The strange dumb sadness of that waiting time ; 
Through all her streets and gates men silence kept, 
And in her chambers, women moaned and wept. 

What song of singing girls, what trumpet call, 

Could comfort hearts that held a cold depair! 

For sacrificial smoke hung like a pall 
O’er Roman citadel and temple stair; 

And every eye was dropped, lest it should see 
That empty cross upon dread Calvary. 

Then in a garden still and sweet with flowers, 

Two women wept beside a fast-sealed tomb, 

Low wept and watched through many weary hours 
For one loved voice to break the speechless gloom. 
O Christ, thou wert not deaf! and thou didst see 
With sweet content that loving sympathy. 

Till through the dim, sweet shadows came apace 
A gleam of spears, a sound of martial stir, 
Helmets and shields flashed in that sacred place, 

And soldiers gathered round the sepulchre. 

O Mary! still beloved, well might you grieve, 

Dark was the grave on that first Easter-Eve. 







THE CHURCH. 


129 


But oh, the glory of the Easter-Morn ! 

Bring lilies in both arms and joyful sing, 

“Now life and immortality is born, 

And over sin and death our Christ is King; 

Angels are sitting in the grave’s dark prison, 

And we shall rise, because our Lord has risen.” 

—Lillie E. Barr. 


EASTER. 



REV. S. C. GOSS, A. M., WADSWORTH, 0. 


T IS Easter morning now, and, with reverent steps 
and believing hearts, we approach the sepulchre. 
We draw near, not in the dim light of prophecy, 
but in full view of historic fulfillment. The ex¬ 
alted Savior has opened our understanding, and, 
we may comprehend the Scriptures, where they 
record, as history, the wonderful events of “passion 
week.” Our faith takes hold of the hand that is 
divine, while we “ come and see the place where 
the Lord lay.” With all that had been spoken and written, 
the empty grave, on the first Easter morning, cast a deep 
gloom over the hearts of the disciples. Our deepest sympathy 
is elicited by these touching words: “They have taken my 
Lord away, and we know not where they have laid him.” 

“The third day he arose from the dead,” is the formulated 
faith of all Christendom, and constitutes the key-note in our 
Easter rejoicing. Not with fear, but great joy, do we now 
come away from the empty grave, because we know that 
“Christ, risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of 
them that slept.” 

We believe in Christ, in his entirety; his person and work; 
his humiliation and exaltation; his life and death; his burial 
and resurrection. We believe in all the stirring events of his 
life, and the stupendous results of the incarnate mystery. 
We believe, therefore, in the festival days which the church 
has so long held dear. Not in one, more than another, for 









THE CHURCH. 


130 

the “ time past ought to suffice us ” to have discussed the 
relative greatness of the incarnation, death and resurrection 
of Jesus. They are all essential parts of the divine economy 
to save. It is idle, therefore, to ask which of the commem¬ 
orative festivals has the strongest claim for observance. We 
care not which was first observed, nor when the custom of 
such annual commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus 
was first introduced. Yet there is a difference, and some ex¬ 
cuse, at least, for speaking of this festival as the u most im¬ 
portant in the whole year.” Indeed, prior to Pentecost, and 
while unfolding the divine economy, each of these events 
carried with it sorrow. On Christmas it was the lowly man¬ 
ger, and humble appearance; on Good Friday the terrible 
gloom of the crucifixion; and even on the first Easter morn¬ 
ing the pious women fled from the empty sepulchre, tremb¬ 
ling and amazed. It took time to rally their fainting spirits,, 
and not till the Holy Ghost, after Pentecost, took command 
of these shattered forces, was the early church able thus to 
pronounce confidently her faith; U I believe in the resurrec¬ 
tion of the body.” Surely that was a great day, the event 
of which again brought angels down from the throne of God, 
to speak to trembling saints: u He is not here; he is risen 
as he said! ” 

How much our poor lips, tongues and hearts need tuning 
by these “ ministering spirits,” themselves inspired by the 
stirring events of that bright morning! And with what in¬ 
spiration the church has been fired to sing: u Jesus who 
bled, has left the dead, no more to die.” Do you ask why 
Easter day should be joyous ? We reply, it gives us a living 
Savior, who, having gone into the realm of the dead, re¬ 
turned again, having achieved a victory over death, hell and 
the grave. u Death hath no more dominion over him.” The 
resurrection gives purchasing power to his death, and we are 
now the sharers of that righteousness which he procured 
through his sacrificial death. “ He was raised again for our 
justification.” Christ’s resurrection was the prelude to his 
ascension to the “ right hand of the Father,” in the glory 
world; and so we are now, by his power, brought into new¬ 
ness of life, which defies the u sting of death” and the 
“ victory ” of the grave. 


THE CHURCH. 


131 

Thus Easter mon ing gladdens our hearts by the “ sure 
pledge of our blessed resurrection.” Let us to-day gratefully 
remember the grand results of Christ’s Easter morning tri¬ 
umph. For us he both died and rose again. Thank God we, 
in this age, can understand the value of Joseph’s new tomb, 
now emptied of its sacred dead. Let us to-day reflect that 
as was the Son of man “really dead,” so also one day will we 
all be. And empty as was that grave, after that he left the 
dead, so empty, one day, will be all the graves of the earth, 
when over all lands and seas, Jesus, the risen Savior, shall 
speak his memorable and effectual words: u Come forth! ” 

We say on this joyous, commemorative day, when our 
thoughts undertake to measure the results of redeeming love, 
“Blessed was the dawn of that first Easter morning! ” But 
more blessed will appear the dawn of that day which 
shall witness all graves empty of their dead, if only all be 
first dead unto sin and alive unto God. Then, at death, we 
shall “ sleep in Jesus,” and in the resurrection we shall be 
remembered with those who share a blessed resurrection. 
Dear reader, strive to secure, for yourself, the highest 
glory of that last, great Easter morning. 


WHITSUNDAY. 


REV. I. H. REITER, D. D., MIAMISBURG, 0. 


HERE ARE no certain traces in the New Testa¬ 
ment of annual festivals, or holy days, except the 
Christian Sabbath or Lord’s Day, which is recog¬ 
nized as a divine institution, and as holy unto the 
Lord; but as early as the second century, we meet 
with the general observance of Whitsunday, as 
well as of Easter, by the Christian Church. 

Whitsunday occupies a somewhat similar place in the Chris¬ 
tian system that Pentecost did in the Jewish economy. The 
cycle of Whitsunday (like that of Pentecost) contains fifty 
days, covering the time between Easter and Whitsunday, but 















THE CHURCH. 


132 

in its restricted sense it is limited to the particular day, which 
commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of 
Pentecost. And, as with the Jews, the interval between the 
Passover and Pentecost was holy time, so also with the primi¬ 
tive Christians the seven weeks between Easter and Whitsun¬ 
day were religiously observed. During this time those who 
had been baptized at Easter appeared at church in ivhite gar¬ 
ments, in' token of the purity of life to which they became 
consecrated by their baptismal vows. The day was called 
White Sunday from their appearing in white for the last time 
on this day; and, having laid this aside on the following Sun¬ 
day, they became integral members of the church. 

Whitsunday, in the broader sense, was a season of grateful 
joy, commemorating Christ’s triumph unto life and glory, his 
repeated appearances during the mysterious forty days on 
earth, his final exaltation in heaven, and his unending spiritual 
presence in the church. It was in the nature of a continuous 
Sunday, tending to spirituality, devotion and thanksgiving. 
Of the whole pentecostal period, the fortieth and fiftieth days 
were significantly prominent. The fortieth day after Easter, 
subsequent to the fourth century, was consecrated to the exal¬ 
tation of Christ at the right hand of God, and hence named 
Ascension Day. The fiftieth day, being the culminating point 
of this festival season, was specially the feast of the Holy 
Spirit, who on this day was poured out upon the disciples as 
they were assembled together, and was the real birthday of 
the Christian Church. As such, Whitsunday is of special sig¬ 
nificance and interest to Christians, who should observe it, not 
in any carnal or secular way, but sincerely and devoutly, and 
with the view of higher attainments in knowledge and spiritu¬ 
ality, influenced and directed by the Holy Spirit. 

And what is the Holy Spirit as to nature, office and power? 
He is not a mere influence or power, but a real person, who 
lives, loves, wills and acts. He is moreover a divine person, 
and is one in essence with the Father and the Son, and also in 
purpose with them, as regards the salvation of sinners, while 
he is distinct in person and f unction. He has his appropriate 
work, as well as the Father and the Son, in the glorious scheme 
of human redemption. He searches the hearts of men, and 
knows their most secret thoughts and motives. By him sin- 


133 


THE CHURCH. 

ners are induced to repent, to love God, and to practice right¬ 
eousness. Indeed all that is pure and lovely proceeds from 
the Holy Spirit as its author and source. 

The offices of the Holy Spirit are not so fully revealed, nor 
so well understood, as those pertaining to Christ the Messiah 
and Savior; yet they are of equal authority, importance and 
necessity in the economy of grace and salvation. This is 
implied in the parting words of Christ to his disciples. It was 
therefore “expedient” for Christ to depart from the earth, as 
the mission and work of the spirit became possible only by his 
departure. The gift of the spirit, as an abiding power, was 
regarded better for the church than the continued personal 
presence of Christ. 

I. The Holy Spirit is the immediate source of all life— 
natural, intellectual and spiritual. He is the executive of the 
Godhead, and whatever God does in the sphere of grace and 
the government of the world, he accomplishes by the spirit, 
who is not only the fountain of all special and extraordinary 
gifts, but also the revealer of all divine truth and the unerring 
guide of its utterance. The prophets and Old Testament 
writers spake and wrote as they were moved by the spirit. 
The apostles and New Testament writers were also the organs 
of the spirit, who directed them in their teachings and work. 
The doctrines which Paul preached he did not receive from 
men, but God revealed them to him by the spirit. The whole 
Bible, as to its truths, promises and blessings, as w r ell as the 
triumph of Christianity and the success of the church, may 
therefore be referred to the spirit as their author. He every¬ 
where attends the use of the means of grace by his power, and 
enforces the truth wherever known on , the heart and con¬ 
science of men. To the all-pervading influence of the spirit 
we are indebted for all true enlightenment, religion, morality 
and order in the world. 

II. The spirit is also to teach men the truth and way of 
salvation. Hence it is said, “He shall teach you all things,” 
and “guide you into all truth.” This is essential because of 
the spiritual ignorance of men, and their aversion to the 
gospel. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the 
Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him.” He does 
not rightly apprehend nor appreciate them. The revelations 


THE CHURCH. 


134 

of Christ contain nothing peculiar and strange, as the carnal 
mind seems to think, but simple, blessed, eternal truths, fully 
adapted to the wants of the soul. These truths are taught and 
applied by the spirit, in order to guide into all truth. 

III. The spirit in the exercise of his offices is specially to 
convince the world of sin and righteousness and judgment; 
“to reveal Christ, regenerate the soul and lead men to the 
exercise of faith and repentance; to dwell in those whom he 
thus renews, as a jjrinciple of a new and divine life. By this 
indwelling of the spirit, believers are united to Christ, and to 
one another, so that thfey form one body. This is the founda¬ 
tion of the communion of saints, making them one in faith, 
one in love, one in their inward life, and one in their hopes 
and final destiny.” And in the final consummation of all 
things, the spirit will give evidence of his divinity and power, 
in bringing back the bodies of the faithful from the dust and 
clothe them with glory and immortality. 

IV. The spirit is the ever-present and all-sufficient helper 
of believers; for as none are converted or made alive in Christ 
without the spirit, so none can bring forth the fruits of holi¬ 
ness without his continued presence. We need his gracious 
and sanctifying help and guidance throughout the whole of 
life. Everything good in us is the result of the spirit’s opera¬ 
tion. This is true respecting our love and obedience to God, 
our child-like confidence in him, our availing prayers with 
him, our developement of Christian character, our progress in 
Christian graces, our strength in the “inner man” to resist evil, 
our spiritual comfort and joy, and our hope of salvation and 
eternal blessedness! 

V. The spirit is the unction, the seal and the earnest of 
enduring blessings to the people of God. The work of grace 
in the soul is not something merely begun, but divinely carried 
forward until it reaches its consummation in glory 7 . The 
unction of the spirit is our spiritual anointing in the gospel of 
Christ, and this anointing is our enlightenment in the truth 
and our consecration to the service of God. The sealing of 
the spirit implies certaint} 7 and security. It authenticates, 
assures and confirms us in the faith and hope of the gospel. 
Moreover it produces in our hearts those feelings, aspirations 
and desires, which are evidences that we are approved of God 


THE CHURCH. 


135 

and adopted as his children, and that our hope is genuine and 
our redemption sure. The earnest of the spirit is a foretaste 
or pledge to us of heaven, and the spirit produces in us love, 
peace, joy and every blessed fruit. These, like the grapes of 
Eschol, are the sure pledge of the glorious inheritance promis¬ 
ed us, assuring us that we are the Lord’s, that we are par¬ 
takers of the communion of saints, that our title to eternal 
life is sure, and that the divine life begun on earth will culmi¬ 
nate in immortality and blessedness! 


THE LORD’S SUPPER. 


PROF. H. RUST, L. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


ESUS CHRIST has instituted two sacraments in 
the New Testament, baptism and the Lord’s sup¬ 
per, which, together with the word of God, con¬ 
stitute the ordinary means of grace, by the use of 
which disciples of Christ are made from all 
nations. Hence, whoever wants to be a full dis¬ 
ciple of Christ, must show himself obedient to 
t him in the proper use of all these means of grace. 
By baptism we are engrafted, by the teaching and preaching 
of the word of God we are awakened and developed, and by 
the faithful use of the Lord’s supper we are confirmed and 
more and more established in the kingdom and grace of 
Christ. 

In order to obtain a proper conception of the Lord’s sup¬ 
per, we must consider the time and circumstances under 
which it was instituted. The great city of Jerusalem was 
filled with crowds of people from all parts of the civilized 
world, who had met there for the purpose of celebrating the 
joyful feast of the Passover. Jesus and his twelve disciples 
were assembled in a well-known upper room, to eat once 
more the paschal lamb, in commemoration of the gracious 
preservation of God’s Old Testament people from the angel 
of death. And at the same time to institute a memorial of a 












136 


THE CHURCH. 


far greater redemption, and preservation in the new covenant 
of grace, which he was then about to establish and seal with 
his own blood. When the paschal feast was nearly ended, 
and after Judas had been exposed and left on his awful mis¬ 
sion, then Jesus took one of the remaining loaves of bread, 
and after having given thanks, he brake it, according to the 
Eastern custom, and then gave it to his disciples, saying, 
“Take, eat, this is my body, broken for you, do this in remem¬ 
brance of me.” After this he took the cup and gave it unto 
them, saying, “Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the 
New Testament, which is shed for you and for many, for 
the remission of sins. This do ye as oft as ye drink it, in 
remembrance of me.” 

This plain and simple form of the institution is evidently of 
such a symbolical character, that every unprejudiced mind can¬ 
not help but see it. Certain it is that the disciples themselves 
must have understood this symbolical character, because they 
had been instructed in the law and prophets, and their atten¬ 
tion had been directed especially to the promise of a new cov¬ 
enant, in place of the old. They knew also from Exod. xxiv. 
7, 8, that like as the old covenant, so also the new must be 
completed and sealed with the covenant blood, in order to sat¬ 
isfy the demands of the law and the justice of God, and thus 
to cause free grace to abound for the pardon of sin. Had 
they not been solemnly and repeatedly informed that their 
Lord himself was that Lamb of God that must be slain for 
the sins of the world? Hence the breaking of the bread, and 
the pouring of the wine into the cup, must have been to the 
apostles tangible representations of the awful experience 
which his sacred body and blood were about to undergo. And 
the eating and drinking of the bread and wine were unto them 
symbols of the closest life-communion with him. 

It is evident that with this holy institution the Lord in¬ 
tended to fix the minds of his disciples upon his atoning death,, 
as the fountain of imperishable salvation for them and all 
their followers, and to make this all-important fact ever 
memorable by the obedient use of this sacrament. It was to 
keep them in living communion with the good Shepherd, who 
has given his life for the flock. Knowing the weakness of 
human nature, and the strong tendency to uncertainty and 


THE CHURCH. 


137 

doubt in spiritual matters, Jesus has instituted this ordinance 
as a means of grace; to give strength to the weak in faith, to 
encourage and animate the feeble in love, and to firmly estab¬ 
lish them in the hope of eternal life. The institution of the 
supper raised the cross so high in the estimation of the apos¬ 
tles, that they at once made it the central point of both their 
preaching and their union; as it remained also with them the 
bond of communion with Christ. While partaking of the 
consecrated elements, their souls, with mingled sadness and 
joy, feasted upon the wonderful person of their Lord and Mas¬ 
ter, who now revealed himself fully as the bearer of their 
sins, and his self-sacrifice as the source of their spiritual and 
eternal life.- That heavenly love, which had captivated and 
drawn them at the time of their first calling, and by which 
they had been supported and animated during their varied ex¬ 
perience in the Savior’s company, now radiated forth from 
his sacred heart and countenance with such overwhelming 
power, that their spirits were lost in his spirit, and by the 
mouth of faith they feasted upon his body and blood as the 
real and necessary food for their souls. 

The apostles and their fellow Christians felt fully assured 
that the body of Christ was offered, and his blood was shed 
for them upon the cross, as certainly as they partook of the 
broken bread and the blessed cup in remembrance of him. 
Hence they assembled around the Lord’s table daily, in order 
to proclaim his*death as the only and all-sufficient means of 
their justification, and as the true source of comfort and peace. 
As in holy baptism, so also in this sacrament the external cer¬ 
emonies were to them not only a sign, but also a sealing over 
of Jhe reality signified thereby. Not a moment did they 
believe that he, who was to them “ the way, the truth and the 
life,” had given them this legacy of infinite love, without put¬ 
ting them in real possession of the treasures promised and 
represented therein. 

Zwingli was right in refusing to accept Luther’s literal 
interpretation of the words “ this is my body,” and also in his 
opposition to the bodily presence of the Lord in, with and 
under the consecrated elements, hut he failed in making the 
Lord’s supper almost entirely commemorative and confes¬ 
sional. With this one-sided view Calvin, the profound thelo- 


10 


138 


THE CHURCH. 


gian, could not be satisfied, but deduced from the holy Scrip¬ 
tures the correct doctrine, which lays the greatest stress upon 
the personal communion with the once humiliated but now 
glorified Redeemer, and maintains that by the operation of 
the Holy Spirit the body of the glorified Savior is received 
spiritually, and really partaken of by the hand and mouth of 
faith. According to this doctrine the unbeliever or hypocrite 
receives in the Lord’s supper nothing but the symbols, while 
the believer truly receives and enjoys the glorified body of 
Christ, who in this manner condescends to unite himself with 
his own poor and needy followers, and imparts to them a 
necessary measure of his spiritual life. This is also the doc¬ 
trine of the Reformed Church, as we find it in plain and forc¬ 
ible, but also cautious language stated in the Heidelberg Cat¬ 
echism. In his explanations of the sacrament Calvin, with 
many of his contemporaries, made this mistake, that he did 
not observe the marked distinction between the soma or body 
and the sarx or flesh of the Lord, and that consequently he 
applied the eating of the Lord’s flesh and the drinking of his 
blood directly to the Lord’s supper. It is true, indeed, that 
both these statements have reference to Christ’s atoning sacri¬ 
fice upon the cross, yet with the “body and blood” in the in¬ 
stitution of the sacrament he certainly points to his death as 
the satisfaction for sin, and as the ground of pardon and the 
source of the sinner’s justification, while by the expression 
u flesh and blood ” he refers more especially to his self-sacri¬ 
fice as the ever-flowing fountain of the new spiritual life in 
the world, as the cause of all true sanctification. It is for this 
reason that he calls himself repeatedly “ the bread of life,” 
and makes the eating thereof the indispensible condition of 
all true life in the world. As by bodily eating and drinking 
we unite to ourselves the substances that sustain our natural 
life, so also must we by spiritual eating and drinking appro¬ 
priate to our souls “the bread of life,” the crucified but also 
glorified Savior, for the support of our spiritual life. Thus 
alone can we realize his saying, “ I in you, and you in me,” 
and the confession of the apostle, “I live, yet not I, but Christ 
liveth in Hue.” • 

The proper and repeated celebration of the Lord’s supper is 
a means of grace, appointed by Christ, for the strengthening 


THE CHURCH. 


139 


of our faith, because our souls there seek and cultivate a per¬ 
sonal communion with the Redeemer, and he, on his part, 
reveals himself spiritually to the hungering and thirsting soul 
with all his riches and gifts. Yes. let it be repeated, in the 
Lord’s supper the true believer does not only commemorate 
the death of Christ, but he also cultivates his personal com¬ 
munion with him, which gives him quickening power for his 
spiritual life. And the Savior, who according to his promise, 
is certainly present where persons, in obedience to his com¬ 
mand, are assembled around his table as humble suppliants of 
grace. 

Moreover, such reunion and communion with Christ is, at 
the same time, a communion with God the Father, who gives 
us a tangible pledge in the Lord’s supper, that Christ has 
died for us, when we were yet sinners, and that he is now 
ready to pardon our transgressions for his Son’s sake, and to 
re-establish us in the covenant of his grace. Such a commun¬ 
ion with the Father and the Son results also in a communion 
with all his children. At the Lord’s table all the walls of 
partition erected by the world, are torn down, because he is 
no respecter of person; all are regarded as needy sinners, and 
are alike made rich with the treasures of salvation, provided 
they are there with becoming humility and trust. The Lord's 
supper actually establishes a bond of union between the 
Christians of all times, churches, countries and tongues; treat¬ 
ing all as alike guilty, and offering to all alike the same grace, 
the same sustaining power and the same hope. 

Considering the treasures of light, comfort and strength 
which, during the past centuries, the Lord’s supper has 
afforded to the church, one should think that every confirmed 
member of the church would feel himself irresistibly drawn 
to this God-appointed fountain, and would cheerfully embrace 
every opportunity to partake of its blessings. But instead of 
this, we find a very large portion of the members living in 
actual disobedience to the Lord’s institution and command. 
Where could we find a testament of love and devotion, made 
by a parent, that is treated with so much indifference and 
neglect? Notwithstanding their solemn vows of faithfulness 
and obedience, which they all have made, we, alas, find that 
out of hundreds, in some congregations, only a few compara- 


140 


THE CHURCH. 


tively go to the table, while the rest are mere idle spectators. 
Why is this so? Do they not need ‘‘the bread of life,” the 
communion with, Christ, the pardoning grace of God ? How 
do they expect to become prepared for Heaven ? 


CHUECH FESTIVALS. 


REV. L. H. KEFAUVER, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


HE ANNUAL festivals, which are now so gener¬ 
ally observed by the Christian Church, are not of 
Divine appointment as were those which formed 
so important a part in the Jewish ritualistic 
service. The tendency with the Christians of the 
Apostolic age, in their worship, was to strip it of 
its forms, and make it as purely spiritual as possible. They 
laid great stress on the words of the Savior, with reference to 
the manner of worshiping God, in his conversation with the 
woman at the well of Sychar, where he says, “The hour 
cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship 
the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek 
to be his worshipers. God is a spirit: and they that worship 
him must worship him in spirit and truth.” As the Apostles 
and their immediate successors to the office of the ministry, 
felt it to be of paramount importance to preach Christ cruci¬ 
fied and resurrected, they already introduced the custom of 
commemorating once a year these two events in our Savior’s 
life. The idea was not wholly original with them. They 
only ingrafted on the Jewish Passover festival one that was 
more spiritual in its nature, and combined in this first one of 
the Christian Church festivals the death and resurrection of 
our Lord. This, however, commenced on Friday and con¬ 
tinued until the close of Sunday. Especially was this the 
case when the festival was observed weekly. In the course 
of time this most ancient Christian festival was divided, and 














TIIE CHURCH. 


141 

on the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday the 
crucifixion of Christ was commemorated, which day was 
called Long Friday, Holy Friday, Black Friday and Good 
Friday. Next in the order of time was introduced the Chris¬ 
tian Pentecost, or Whitsuntide, which, like its predecessor, is 
of Jewish origin, being a scion of the Jewish Pentecost, but 
not becoming prominent in Christian worship until some 
time in the second century. The last of the festivals in 
chronological order is Christmas, which was not celebrated 
previous to the middle of the fourth century. Its lateness in 
coming upon the stage of church history is nothing against 
its importance. 

In the more detailed consideration of these church festivals 
we will not proceed with them in the chronological order of 
their origin, but will call them up in their natural order, as 
they have been arranged in the church year, and observed by 
God’s worshiping people. Following this order we have, 
first, the Christmas festival, at which time the birth, or more 
strictly speaking, the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ is 
commemorated. Here we recognize the union of Divine and 
human natures in the Second Person of the Trinity. Origin¬ 
ally they were united, but by the transgression of Adam in 
Paradise they were separated, and the human nature became 
corrupt. Through Christ’s holy conception by the Divine 
Spirit and his nativity, this nature is again restored to its 
original purity and innocence. In him we have the promised 
Immanuel, which means u God with us.” Not merely as he 
is observed in his providential dealings with us, nor as ruler 
in his moral government, but as the head of the race, taking 
the place of the first Adam before the fall. 

It is highly appropriate for the church to commemorate 
such a great event, in which, not only a portion of mankind 
are interested, but the whole human family. It is the season 
of'rejoicing, when we behold our corrupt nature coming up 
from the ruins of sin. 

While we rejoice in this fact it is but the first step taken 
in the plan of redemption, without which there could be no 
restoration to divine favor, but, standing alone, it could avail 
nothing for sinners. The restored human nature, as it is in 
the person of Christ, does not in any way appease the wrath 


THE CHURCH. 


142 

of God against others, who are both sinners by nature and by 
practice. This condescension on the part of the Son to exalt 
our fallen nature by assuming it, may have increased God’s 
displeasure with a sinful race, and made its perilous condition 
the more critical. Something more must be done. It is not 
sufficient that Christ presents himself in his human nature 
to his offended father, as a model of purity, and ask him to 
remould all men after this perfect pattern. Our sinful nature 
cannot be disposed of in this way. Through sin we have 
become disobedient children. As such we are debtors to the 
law, and the claims of the law must be satisfied. On account 
of man’s disobedience he cannot meet the requirements, no 
more than the culprit, who is under sentence, can. The law 
must be executed. Man, in his depravity, awaits the awful 
day of its execution. In this extremity, Christ, the God-man, 
proposes to pay the penalty. He offers himself as a sacrifice, 
by which to turn away the wrath of God from man and suffer 
in his stead. This he did during the latter part of his life, 
but especially on the cross. Here we have another impor¬ 
tant step in the scheme of redemption, which is solemnly 
commemorated on Good Friday. In the observance of this 
festival we are reminded of our sinfulness, and the price paid 
for our deliverance from it, and its dreadful consequences. 
It is usually preceded by four days of deep humiliation and 
penitential service. The history of the Savior’s passion is 
read and studied during this time under the shadow of the 
cross upon which he was crucified. Humble confession of 
sin is made to God, in the belief that he will grant pardon for 
the sake of the one sacrifice offered on the cross. 

But the death of Christ was not only a satisfaction for sin. 
It pointed back to the past. In paying the debt, Jesus 
expired on the cross in great agony. He suffered all that 
was required of him, but his sufferings ended in death. The 
wrath of God was appeased, but man’s worst enemy was not 
overcome. Death is still victorious. He, who came to con¬ 
quer it, has been conquered. His sympathizing friends bear 
his body off the field of carnage, and lay it carefully in the 
new tomb of Joseph. There it is guarded by the Roman 
soldiers to prevent any fraud that might be perpetrated by 
the disciples. But when the women go to the sepulchre. 


THE CHURCH. 


143 


early in the morning of the first day of the week, for the pur¬ 
pose of completing the embalming of his body, lo, it is not 
there! 

“ He burst the bars of death 

And triumphed o’er the grave.” 

The women told the story of his resurrection to his disciples. 
They ran in great haste to the tomb and were convinced of 
the truthfulness of their message. The Easter-cry rang out, 
“The Lord is risen indeed.” And the prophetic language of 
the despised Nazarene, U I am the resurrection and the life,” 
is now fulfilled. Glorious victory! Worthy of angel’s praise. 
Christians should not fail to commemorate it in their 
devotional services with a holy enthusiasm. 

What has been said has reference to what the Son of God 
did for the benefit of the human race. All of this, however, 
important as it is, would be of no avail to man if lie stood 
outside of the scheme of salvation. A practical application 
of what Christ was and did must be made to the needy sub¬ 
ject. In order that the power, or agency for accomplishing 
this might be obtained, it was necessary that the Savior with¬ 
draw from the field of his earthly conflict and work, and go 
to his Father again in heaven. “ It is expedient for you that 
I go away,” says the Savior, u for if I go not away the Com¬ 
forter will not come unto you, but if I go, I will send him 
unto you.” Ten days after his miraculous ascension, the 
promised Comforter came. On the day of Pentecost (Whit¬ 
suntide) the Holy Spirit revealed Christ to the Apostles and 
all the followers of the Savior more fully than Christ himself 
did when on earth. Now they understand his mission to the 
world better than before. The words which he spake to*them 
which were so mysterious, are now made plain. The devour¬ 
ing zeal he had for his Father’s house, now inspires them. 
The new life he brought with him into the world and perfected 
through suffering, fills their souls. And what the Holy Spirit 
did for the Christians on the day of Pentecost, he is now 
doing for the disciples of Jesus. He is not only taking the 
things of Christ, but Christ himself, and shewing them to all 
believers. As “ no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by 
the Holy Ghost,” this same Divine person enables every man, 
by the faith which he works in him, to embrace the Savior and 


THE CHURCH. 


144 

say, “ My Lord and my God.” Through him Christ becomes 
to the believer the fairest among ten thousand and the one 
altogether lovely. To all others u He is a root out of dry 
ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when they see 
him, there is no beauty that they should desire him.” 


THE BIBLE. 


REV. H. H. SAND0E, BALTIMORE, 0. 


HAT IS the Bible ? The Book , by way of emi¬ 
nence ; the sacred volume, in which are contained 
the revelations of God; the principles of Christian 
faith, and the rules of practice—the Old and New 
Testament—the Scriptures. 

To say that the Bible is the best and most won¬ 
derful book in the world, is only to say what has 
often been said by the world’s ablest and best men, and that 
very truly. There is no book now, nor has there ever been 
one, like the Bible, so that it may truly be said to be the Book 
of books. 

It is composed of sixty-six books, written at intervals during 
a period of sixteen hundred years, by about forty different 
persons, of different ages, countries and nationalities, and yet 
it is pervaded throughout with one purpose and idea, which is 
that of the redemption of the world through Christ. No book 
written under such peculiar circumstances could have the 
unity the Bible has if the writers had not been under divine 
direction and inspiration. 

It is the oldest book in the world, parts of which were writ¬ 
ten about four thousand years ago, and all of it over eighteen 
hundred years ago, and yet it has come down to us in its orig¬ 
inal purity. Very few books last over a few generations, 
when they are superceded by new ones. But the Bible is read 
and studied more now than it ever has been. Two millions of 
copies of the late revision of the New Testament were sold in 
forty-eight hours after it left the press, in England and 











THE CHURCH. 


145 


America. Has any other book ever had such a sale ? And 
why the Bible? Simply from the fact that it meets the wants 
of the people, is adapted to all conditions of men in that it 
satisfactorily answers all questions, which reason of itself 
could never answer, though it has often tried. The Bible 
explains our origin, the design of our being and our destiny, it 
puts beyond all dispute that “when a man dies he shall live 
again.” Live to die no more. 

It has been wonderfully preserved. Most of the books of 
Greece and Rome are lost, we have few books of the ancient 
philosophers of Greece. How is this? Because, while these 
books displayed a high state of intellectual development, 
they failed in solving the great problem of human life, they 
answered not the longings of the soul. 

The Bible gives us the most precious information. It carries 
us back to the origin of things, tells us of man’s origin, of the 
fall of our first parents, of the deluge, of the saving of Noah 
as a faithful preacher of righteousness, the birth of Christ, 
his sufferings and death, his resurrection and ascension into 
heaven and that “he liveth to make intercession for us.” It 
gives us all the valuable information we have of God. If it 
were not for the Bible we would be in the condition of pagan 
nations. We would be unable to account for anything. 

It tells us the relation of God to the world, not only as its 
Creator, the author of all, but that he sustains the relation of 
Bather to us all, in that he graciously provides for all our 
wants, both of body and soul, and preserves us. Every 
gift comes from his hand, thus making plain our relation to 
him, not only as creatures, but children, begotten by his word 
and spirit, heirs, joint-heirs with Christ. The Bible tells us 
what we are by nature, what we ought to be, can, and must 
be to live witli him and enjoy him forever. 

It teaches us how we ought to live and act, not only to 
secure to ourselves the favor and approbation of God, but that 
we may be healthy, strong and live long.in the land; how we 
may be happy and useful ourselves, and how we may make 
others happy; how we may secure great riches honestly, and 
live to enjoy them. 

It tells us we are sinners, ruined and lost, and how we may 
be rescued and saved, by repentance toward God, and faith 


146 


THE CHURCH. 


in the Lord Jesus Christ. It lifts the veil that hides eternity 
from us, assures us there is a hereafter, there is a heaven, a 
state of bliss, of joy, of life and light; a hell, or a state of 
remorse, bitter anguish, darkness, despair and death. It tells 
us of the final condition of all men. It sheds more light on 
the origin and destiny of our race than all the other books of 
the world. 

It has the purest and best system of morals the world has 
ever had, of which the Golden Rule is a fair sample: “Do 
unto others as you would have others do unto you.” What¬ 
soever things are pure, noble, lofty, good and true are found 
within its lids. Had it nothing more, this alone would recom¬ 
mend it to the favorable notice and hearty reception of all 
men. It has comfort, solid comfort for every new distress in 
life. Of it, it may be truly said: “ Earth lias no sorrow it 
cannot heal,” and he who comes to it with a sad heart, a 
guilty and condemned culprit, with godly sorrow and true 
repentance, it says to him, “ Be of good cheer, thy sins are 
forgiven thee.” Sir Walter Scott, it is said, when dying,, 
asked his son-in-law to “bring the Book;” when asked 
“what book?” he said, “there is only one book for a dying 
man, the Bible.” 

It has exceeding great and precious promises, more than 
five thousand in number. He that has made them will ful¬ 
fill them, though heaven and earth pass away. How many 
of them have been fulfilled in your own experience ? They 
are reliable, and such as will encourage and comfort us. 


ANGELS’ PRAYER. 


f A PEAK, ye who best can tell, ye sons of light, 
Angels; for ye behold him, and with songs 
And choral symphonies, day without night, 
Circle his thr.one rejoicing; ye in heaven, 
On earth join all ye creatures to extol 
Him first, him last, him midst and without end. 



































































































































BIBLE READING. 



REV. J. MICHAEL, WINAMAC, IND. 


[HE BIBLE is the most remarkable of all books, 
and should be read more than all other books. 
We frequently come across books of great antiqui¬ 
ty, and of curious and interesting contents, but 
none of them are equal to the Bible in age, in the 
beauty of expression, style, or the important 
nature of the subjects treated. And yet there have been 
men in all ages, who have set their judgment against that of 
Jehovah, and have called in question the truth of many 
things recorded in the Bible, and have suggested different 
improvements that might be made by leaving out certain 
parts, and adding others, thus making the word of God of no 
effect; for if it could be changed and altered in this way it 
would soon lose the hold it has upon the world. What folly! 
The Word of God has been often tried in this Avay by men of 
reprobate minds, and has maintained itself under all the 
criticisms that have been made, and will, no doubt, stand the 
tests to which it may be subjected in the future, as it has 
in the past. 

The most terrible judgments were sent upon the Jews for 
disobeying the word of the Lord as it was revealed to them, 
and walking after their own ways, which should be a warning 
to men in the present day against substituting their will in 
the place of God’s, lest similar judgments fall on them. 

The Bible being God’s book, should be read with great 
care, in order that we may find out what his will is in regard 
to us. It will be of little practical use to us if we do not read 
and study it. It is gratifying to know that the Bible is not 
only highly prized, but also read by a very large number of 
persons, as is evident from the very large number*of copies 
that are printed and sold. There is no book that has the 
circulation the Bible has. 










THE CHURCH. 


148 

There have been many persons in the past, and also at 
present who give special attention to the reading of the Bible. 
Mr. Moody tells us he has made it a rule not to read any book 
which does not bear in some way upon the Bible, which is a 
very good rule; Some read the Bible through often in the 
course of a year. To show what interest certain persons have 
taken in the Bible, we will give the following instances, in 
the hope that their example may have a good effect upon us: 
The Emperor Theodosius wrote out the whole New Testa¬ 
ment with his own hand, and read some parts of it every day. 
George, Prince of Transylvania, read the Scriptures over 
twenty-seven times. M. de Bentz, a French nobleman, used 
to read daily three chapters of the Bible, with his head 
uncovered, and on his knees. Lady Francis Hobart read the 
Psalms over twelve times a year, the New Testament thrice 
and the other parts of the Old Testament once. Susannah, 
Countess of Suffolk, for the last seven years of her life read 
the entire Scriptures twice a year. Dr. Gouge used to read 
fifteen chapters a day; five in the morning and five before 
going to bed. The venerable Bede is said to have been a 
great reader of the Bible, and with such affection that he 
often wept over it. Robert Colton read the Bible through 
twelve times a year. Ulrich Zwingli wrote out the Epistles 
of Paul and committed them to memory. A Scotchman, who 
lived in Fairfield county, 0., a few years ago, read the Bible 
through eighty-four times. If it were necessary we might 
add many other similar instances of Bible reading, but these 
must suffice, showing, as they do, what a value good and holy 
men have put on the Word of God. 

As it is, however, possible to read the Bible without deriv¬ 
ing any direct benefit, it may be proper to give a few direct- 
tions as to how we should read it, in reference to which the 
following must suffice. 

I. We should read it thoughtfully and reverently, bearing 
in mind that it is God’s Word, and that he is speaking to us, 
as really as he did to those to whom it was first given. 

II. We should read it daily, and then meditate on what 
we have }’ead, that we may understand it, and treasure it up 
in our hearts. And if there is anything we do not under¬ 
stand, we should not lay it aside hastily, but seek such helps 


THE CHURCH. 149 * 

as may be at our command, in order that we may find out 
its true meaning and intent. 

III. The entire Bible should be read, including the Old as 
well as the New Testament, as was done by those to whom 
we referred above; for if all Scripture is given by inspiration 
of God, then it is all equally his word, and should be read in 
order that we may know what his will is concerning us. 

IV. It should be read prayerfully, and with an earnest 
desire to know the truth, and to be made wise unto salvation, 
and not to criticise and find fault with its teachings, as is the 
case with some. With the devout Psalmist we should ask 
God to open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things 
out of his law, and determine to use it so constantly and 
faithfully that the dust shall not cover it, nor the moth eat it, 
nor the mildew rot it. 

Y. We should, finally, read it as we would the last will of 
some deceased friend, in which we expect a large bequest,, 
thanking God that he has so graciously given us his blessed 
word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. 


THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE. 


REV. F. C. BAUMAN, ZWINGLI, IOWA. 


AUL, IN writing to Timothy, speaks of the Scrip¬ 
tures as inspired, and profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof, for correction, for instruction in right¬ 
eousness, that the man of God may be perfect, 
thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Any 
book that subserves purposes like these, and con¬ 
tains truths which are of the highest importance 
to our w T ell-being here, and our eternal felicity in the world 
to come, ought to be read and studied with the greatest care. 

David, one of the Old Testament saints, speaks of the 
word of God as a lamp and light, as honey and the honey¬ 
comb, as expressive of its value and excellence. And Christ 
says, it is not by bread alone that we live, but by every word 















150 


THE CHURCH. 


that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, and exhorted the 
Jews to “ Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have 
eternal life.” 

The word of God is of great value to us in a great variety 
of ways. The duties it enjoins are of such infinite value 
that eternal life is promised as the reward of obedience, and 
eternal death threatened as the penalty of disobedience. 

Dealing in matters of such vast importance to us, it would 
be reasonable to suppose that its style would be sufficiently 
plain to be understood by all, as we find it to be the case; for 
no language could be more simple than that which the Bible 
employs in revealing the way of salvation, and the duties 
incumbent upon us. And yet plain and simple as its lan¬ 
guage is, it needs to be read thoroughly, and studied dili¬ 
gently under the influence of the Holy Spirit, in order that it 
may be correctly understood. 

It is a lamentable fact, and one that is generally admitted 
as only too true, that there is less Bible study now, than 
formerly. This is the more to be deplored, as we have 
greater facilities for its study than our fathers had. The 
Bible is more widely circulated than ever before. The Sun¬ 
day-school, with its literature, has also done much to famil¬ 
iarize the present generation with the teaching of the Bible. 
And yet, with all these helps, it is astonishing how much 
ignorance still prevails in reference to it, not only on the part 
of the world, but also on the part of those who profess to 
believe in and love it. 

There is nothing that can supply or supercede the necessity 
of earnest, personal Bible study. The gospel preached in its 
purity from Sabbath to Sabbath, and listened to attentively, 
will be all the more effectual when, like the Bereans, the 
Scriptures are searched at home to know whether the things 
they hear are true. The Old Testament presents beautiful 
examples of Bible study, especially that of David, who prized 
the house of God above all other places on earth. He not 
only frequented those courts himself, but was glad when he 
heard others say, “ Let us go into the house of the Lord.” To 
him the word of God was most precious. It was his delight 
and daily companion. We hear him say, “ 0 how I love thy 
law, it is my meditation all the day,” and in describing the 


THE CHURCH. 


151 

righteous man, he says, “ His delight is in the law of the 
Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” 
The New Testament furnishes similar examples. Paul, writ¬ 
ing to Timothy, says, “ From a child thou hast known the 
holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salva¬ 
tion.” 

Sacred history is abundant in testimonies of this kind. 
The noble army of patriarchs and prophets, apostles, mar¬ 
tyrs and saints, of all ages, who have been a light in the 
world, were nurtured and strengthened under the blessed in¬ 
fluence of God’s word. They were instructed in it in child¬ 
hood in the family, and were made more familiar with it in 
the synagogue and temple. It was their daily study. God 
said to Joshua, u This book of the law shall not depart out of 
thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night 
that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written 
therein, for then thou shalt make thv way prosperous, and 
then thou shalt have good success.” The study of God’s word 
has ever since furnished similar results. True prosperity, 
wdiether national, family or individual, is found to be in the 
knowledge and esteem of God’s word. England’s greatness 
lies mainly in her Christian educational system. Greater vic¬ 
tories have been won by her Sunday-schools and Bible soci¬ 
eties than by all her battles fought on land and sea. The old 
Scotch were notable for the study of the Bible. It was 
their daily companion, they were made familiar with its lan¬ 
guage, and this, more than anything else, made them what 
they w T ere, an earnest Christian people. 

Many of our own honored ancestors, in the Palatinate and 
other places, held in high esteem their hymn books and cate¬ 
chisms, but above all, their Bibles as their dearest treasure, 
left their homes on account of persecution. They crossed the 
sea and became important factors in laying the foundation of 
our civil and religious institutions, the benefits of which we, 
of the third and fourth generation, enjoy. Their faith in 
God and love for his word, were the sources of their strength 
and influence. 

With many, the study of the Bible is sadly neglected; they 
seldom read it, much less study it, though it may occupy the 
most prominent place on the centre-table and be ornamented 


THE CHURCH. 


152 

in the most attractive style of print and binding. For such it 
can, at least, be but a hid treasure, an outward ornament, or 
still worse, a make-believe that its possessors are Bible stu¬ 
dents when they do not read it, so that instead of pointing 
out the way of life to them, it becomes a standing witness of 
their neglect of a most important Christian duty. 

The subject has special claims upon us at this time when 
books both good and bad are multiplied beyond anything ever 
known in every conceivable form, so that there is great danger 
of many being led away from the pure fountain of truth. 
We should study the Bible for the information it gives us of 
the creation and history of our race. The history contained 
in the first three chapters of Genesis is the only history cover¬ 
ing the period of man’s origin, which, in connection with the 
the entire history given in the Bible, is of far greater benefit 
than all the productions by profane authors. 

We should study the Bible for its literary merits. The 
finger of God is not only discern able in keeping its pages from 
any mixture of error, but the very language in which it is 
written is a model of purity and beauty of style. But the 
study of the Bible is far more important, in that it reveals the 
way of salvation. It treats of the most vital of all questions: 
u What must I do to be saved ? ” It tells us, in simple lan¬ 
guage, of the terrible fact of the fall, the nature and conse¬ 
quence of sin, of Jesus Christ as the Savior of men, and faith 
in him as the only way of salvation. A book, containing in¬ 
formation upon subjects of such interest and concern to us, is 
worthy of our most earnest and patient study. 

We should study the Bible entire, and not simply certain 
portions of it. All Scripture is given by inspiration and of 
equal importance. Many of its treasures are not found 
because those portions, where they are hid, are either neglected 
entirely or read superficially. 

But important as these, and other things we might men¬ 
tion are, as showing the value of the Bible on account of 
which it ought to be studied, we should never lose sight of the 
fact that its true worth lies in the revelation it makes of the 
way of salvation though our Lord Jesus Christ which is the 
central truth that runs through every part of it, and which 
alone can bring comfort to the soul oppressed with a sense of 


THE CHURCH. 


153 

sin and guilt. Take this away, and you strip it of its true 
glory and excellence, and leave man bewildered in the mists 
of doubt and superstition. As the Bible now throws light 
upon subjects of the deepest interest to us all, as it alone 
points out the way to life and peace, and gives us informa¬ 
tion which can be found no where else, it should be studied 
in all its parts with unwearied diligence, and be made the 
man of our counsel, a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our 
path. 


THE TRUTH OF THE BIBLE VINDICATED. 



HENRY LEONARD, BASIL, 0. 


IT IS well that we have some men in the Church of 
Christ who make no pretension to scholarship or 
theological learning, and yet at the same time, in 
their plain way of reasoning, are able to handle 
the sword of the spirit in such a way as very often 
to succeed in perplexing, and even confounding, 
the infidel in his subtle and bold attack on the 
Word of God and the church. 

Not long since, while I stayed in a county-town 
in Ohio, I was informed that a Spiritualist held forth in the 
Court-house. He had quite a respectable audience. Several 
ministers went to hear what this stranger had to say. 

I. The main point of his argument was, first, to deny the 
divinity of Christ, and that he was the Son of God. But at 
the same time he admitted there was such a being as Jesus 
Christ, and said that he was a truthful and good man. 

II. The second point that he made was, that all mankind 
would be saved. Here he used the usual arguments: “ How 
could it be possible for such a good God to punish his 
creatures?” etc. 

III. His third point was, that spirits had the privilege to 
come back from the spirit-world and converse with their 
friends. 


11 







154 


THE CHURCH. 


After the lecturer got through his discourse, and perhaps 
had succeeded with his sophistry to convince some, that the 
doctrine which he advocated was true, to show to his hearers 
that he was willing to defend and stand by his doctrine, he 
challenged any one in the audience who might differ with 
him or object to what he advocated, to ask any questions. 
He was ready now to hear any objections. * 

There sat in the back part of the Court-house an oldish-like 
man, who was raised on a farm, and tolerably well posted in 
the Scriptures, and had just 44 brass ” and modesty enough , and 
that well mixed , to enable him to arise to his feet and address 
the Spiritualist in a respectful manner. As might be expect¬ 
ed, all eyes were turned toward the plain layman , and, as the 
saying is, “you could have heard a pin fall,” when the 
Sunday-school man put the following question: 

First. “You stated in your remarks that Jesus Christ was 
not the Son of God ?” 

44 l r es,” was the Spiritualist’s answer. 

44 You also stated that he was a truthful and good man?” 

To which he also replied, u Yes.” 

u Well, you say Jesus Christ was not the Son of God. 
Now, I would like to know how you will undertake to recon¬ 
cile these passages of Scripture, found in Matt, xvi., with 
your declaration? You remember Christ at a certain time 
said to his disciples: 4 Whom do men say that I, the Son of 
man, am? And they said, Some say thou art John the 
Baptist; and some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the 
prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 
And Simon Peter, who it seems was the spokesman for all at 
the time, answered and said, 4 Thou art the Christ, the Son of 
the living God.’ 

44 Now, what was the Savior’s answer? Did he tell Peter, 

4 No. Peter; you are mistaken; I am not the Son of God?’ 
Not a bit of this. But he said to Peter, 4 Blessed art thou, 
Simon Bar-jona ;*for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto 
thee, but my Father which is in heaven.’ 

44 Now, sir, I ask, if Christ was a truthful man and a good 
man, why did he not correct Peter? 

44 Now, in the second place, you say that all mankind will 
be saved. And how will you reconcile the passage in Mark: 


THE CHURCH. 


155 


4 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole 
world, and lose his own soul V I ask, if Christ was truthful, 
would he have made this remark, if there was no possibility 
of a man losing his soul? 

4 * The third question: You said that spirits had the privilege 
of coming back and conversing with their friends. Now let 
us try this by the testimony of that truthful and good man: 

u Christ tells of a certain rich man and a poor man. They 
both died, but were in different 4 spheres.’ The one is repre¬ 
sented to be in Abraham’s bosom, the other in torment. The 
rich man requested that Lazarus might be sent on a mission 
to his father’s house, to warn his five brethren. Now, accord¬ 
ing to the faithful record, neither Lazarus nor the rich man 
was permitted to come back from the spirit-world. Now, sir, 
I wish to know how you can maintain your three positions ?” 

Evidently he was puzzled, and said, 44 It would take more 
time than he had now to answer all these points satisfacto¬ 
rily.” The fact is the infidel got the worst of it. 

Just what the Spiritualist thought would 44 sugar-coat” his 
infidelity, proved to be the very thing that unmasked his 
impious logic. 

Now, when the plain Sunday-school man, in the service of 
44 King Immanuel,” had placed his evangelical battery on the 
hill of Zion, charged with the truth of the everlasting gospel, 
sending three shots into the enemy’s camp, this made a breach 
and 14 scatterment” of the tottering and ungodly fort of unbe¬ 
lief. And it may be said that he 44 spiked the Spiritualist’s 
big gunor, in plain words, it was a triumph in behalf of 
the truth. 

As the people left the Court-house there was whispering 
loud enough to be heard— 44 That was just the best thing of the 
kind that ever happened in town.” Oh that we had more 
such 44 lay preachers!” 


THE BIBLE A REVELATION OF ALL WE NEED. 



E HAVE in the Bible all the knowledge necessary 
both for life and godliness. We have enough for 
faith and practice, and unless we are prepared to 
ignore the probabilities, which so strongly point to 
the reasonableness of a supernatural revelation, 
we need not inhabit tombs, nor grope in darkness, 
and despairingly cry that we know not our duty, 
either to God or man. Here it is made manifest* 
and made manifest in such a way, that it is unobscured and 
unaffected by the unexplorable truths with which it is asso¬ 
ciated. Though clouds and darkness still enshroud God’s 
throne, sufficient light has fallen on our path to make clear 
the road to heaven. There is no position we occupy, no rela¬ 
tionship we sustain, no serious issue we have to meet, con¬ 
cerning which we may not, if we will, obtain the fullest in¬ 
formation ; neither is there any honest doubt, springing from 
a troubled conscience, that has not its antidote in the affluent 
provisions of divine grace. If you would know how to 
approach and honor your Creator; if you would realize the 
claims of Christ upon your faith and love; if you would 
learn how to fulfill your obligations, as parent, child, citizen 
or friend; and if you would understand how to live and die 
triumphantly; you have but to consult the sacred volume, 
whose pages glow with simplest wisdom and safest counsels. 
The Bible may be reticent where you would be pleased to 
have it voluble, it may be tongueless where you would have 
it eloquent, and obscure where you would have it clear ; but 
though it may conceal many things from your too curious 
eyes, and refuse to lay bare either the secrets of a past, or of 
a future eternity, what reason have you for complaint if it 
has made manifest the range and scope of present duty. 
This much at least it has done, and for the way in which you 
deal with the heaven-given light—call it twilight if you will 
—which it has shed upon your path, will you have to render 
an account to God, not for the darkness which it has left 
undisturbed, and which all your intellectual power never can 
dispel.— Lorimer. 





THE PROMISES OF THE GOSPEL. 



HE GOSPEL of the Son of God comes to us 
laden with the most precious promises, suited to 
every rank and condition of men. Each promise 
bears upon its face the seal of its Divine Author, 
thus making the promises of the gospel not only 
unique, but in the highest degree u sure and stead¬ 
fast.” 


Man may promise in all sincerity, and may put forth every 
possible effort toward the fulfillment of his promises; yet in¬ 
numerable things may occur, which hecan neither forsee nor 
control, to thwart his honest purposes. But with God no 
such contingencies can arise. He sees the end from the 
beginning, and by his providence controls all the events of 
the universe. u He is faithful that promised,” and whatever 
he has promised he is u able, also, to perform,” is the founda¬ 
tion upon which every promise of the gospel rests. To this 
rock many a poor soul has safely anchored, when out upon 
life’s troubled sea. Thefee promises are “ exceeding great and 
precious” in themselves, but, if there was the least shadow 
of a doubt, in regard to their fulfillment, a very dark shadow 
Avould be cast over the pathway of many. Nothing, how¬ 
ever, is more certain than the fulfillment of the promises of 
him, 

“ Whose word can ne’er be broken.” 


The most lasting things of time may decay, even the heavens 
and the earth may pass away, but the words and promises of 
God shall not pass away “ till all be fulfilled.” 

An examination of the promises of the Bible cannot fail 
to impress anyone with their adaptability to all ranks and 
conditions of men. Here are promised blessings for the Jew 
and the Gentile; the bond and the free; the Caucasian and 
the Ethiopian; the great king and the humblest of his sub¬ 
jects; the rich and the poor; the learned and the ignorant. 

So numerous and varied are these promises, that they pro- 









THE CHURCH. 


158 

vide a balm for every wound, a cordial for every fear. 
Every legitimate need of man may find here an ample sup¬ 
ply. Food is promised to the hungry, clothing to the naked, 
rest to the weary and heavy laden, comfort to the afflicted, 
joy to those who weep and mourn, grace to the tempted and 
tried, strength to the weak. Yea, there is promised u manifold 
more in this present time, and in the world to come life ever¬ 
lasting,” but, to all alike, upon the same irrevocable condi¬ 
tions. Food and clothing are promised, but an essential 
factor in this promise is man’s ability and opportunity to 
secure these things. Hence the fulfillment of the promise 
is made conditional upon man’s proper use of his God-given 
powers. So with every promise there is a condition which, 
however, is neither burdensome nor grievous. 

The full and complete enjoyment of the promises of the 
gospel depends then, not only upon the will and power of 
God, but also upon man’s acceptance of, and compliance 
with, the inherent conditions of these promises. I may offer 
a friend a most Valuable gift, and may have full power to 
convey the same to him, but, unless my friend accepts of the 
gift and makes proper use of it, he can derive no possible 
benefit from it except, perhaps, a consciousness of my love 
for him. 

The promises of the gospel are, indeed, “ exceeding great 
and precious”—valuable beyond the power of language to 
express—yet of no value to us until we comply with the con¬ 
ditions thereof. 

The one fundamental and essential condition of every 
promise of the Bible is faith. u Without faith it is impos¬ 
sible to please God,” and impossible also to enjoy the prom¬ 
ises of his word. By faith we can discover the priceless 
value of these promises, and by a “ true and living faith” 
they become to us eternal verities, for u faith is assurance of 
things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” 

Faith alone secures the pearl of great price. The highest 
boon that heaven can confer upon man, the pardon of sin 
and eternal life, is promised only to those who repent and 
believe. It was faith in God and his promises that gave 
strength and courage to the patriarchs, and enabled them to 
endure “ as seeing him who is invisible,” and finally secured 


TIIE CHURCH. 


159 


to their descendants the promised land. If, then, we would 
enjoy the manifold blessings promised in the gospel, we must 
believe. Faith alone can draw comfort, peace and strength 
from these promises amid the trials and afflictions of this 
life. u Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a 
crown of life.” 

These promises of God have been a firm foundation and 
comforting assurance to the saints of all ages, as they are to 
us of the present day, and are expressed with touching force 
and beauty in the following lines, where God is represented 
as saying to his people, tried and tempted as they often are: 

“ Fear not, I am with thee, 0 be not dismay’d, 

For, I am thy God and will still give thee aid ; 

I will strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, 
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand. 

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go, 

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; 

For, I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, 

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. 

“When thro’ fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, 

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply; 

The flames shall not hurt thee, 1 only design, 

Tliy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.” 

“ E’en down to old age, all my people shall prove 
My sov’reign, eternal, unchangeable love; 

And then, when gray hairs their temples shall adorn, 

Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne. 

“ The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, 

I will not, I cannot desert to his foes; 

That soul tho’ all hell should endeavor to shake, 

I’ll never—no never—no never forsake.” 



WHAT GREAT MEN SAY OF THE BIBLE. 


REV. J. STUCK, HILLGROVE, 0. 


HERE IS no book that has been read, studied and 
criticised like the Bible. And yet, notwithstanding 
the severe ordeal through which it has passed, it 
is to-day, as it has always been, prized and valued 
as no other book. People read it still with as 
much interest and pleasure as if it had just been 
published for the first time. All classes read it, 
and always find something new and interesting in 
it, so that it is eminently a book for the people. 

It is also a remark worthy of notice that the Bible has 
awakened more thought, and called forth more discussion 
than any other book that has ever been written. There is 
hardly a library to be found anywhere, that has not a com¬ 
mentary or some other book, bearing in some way upon the 
Bible, either in the way of explaining and enforcing its teach¬ 
ings, or opposing them. Men cannot be indifferent to the 
Bible like they are to other books. They must give some 
expression of opinion in reference to it. This opinion has, 
upon the whole, been favorable. Books have been written by 
different persons, in which these opinions have been collected 
and published to the world, showing the wonderful impression 
which the Bible has made. 

Having been requested to give the opinions of some of the 
great men of the world of the Bible—a very pleasant task to 
us—we shall select the names of such as are generally admit¬ 
ted to be oracles, men whose opinions are sought and respected 
upon almost any subject. As our limits, however, are small, 
we can only give a few names, acknowledging our obligations 
to those who have written upon the subject. 

The first name we shall adduce is that of Goethe, who has 
often been called the “ German Voltaire” on account of the 
central position he occupies in the heart and literature of his 
nation, who said of the Bible; u I esteem the gospels to be 














THE CHURCH. 


161 

thoroughly genuine, for there shines forth from them the 
reflected splendor of a sublimity, proceeding from the person 
of Jesus Christ, of so divine a kind as only the divine could 
ever have manifested upon earth.” 

Dr. Samuel Johnson said to a friend a few days before his 
death: “I conjure you to read and meditate upon the Bible; do 
not throw it away for a play or a novel. I regret that I myself 
have lived in so great negligence of religion and the Bible, 
and have often reflected what I could hereafter say, when 
asked why I had not read it more attentively.” 

The following beautiful lines on the Bible, from the pen of 
Sir Walter Scott, are very impressive: 

“ Within this ample volume lies 
The mystery of mysteries; 

Happiest they of human race 
To whom their God has given grace, 

To read, to fear, to hope, to pray, 

To lift the latch, to force the way ; 

And better had they ne’er been born, 

That read to doubt, or read to scorn.” 

William Cowper, one of the most distinguished poets, sang 
thus of the Bible : 

“ What glory gilds the sacred page, 

Majestic like the sun, 

It gives a light to every age; 

It gives, but borrows none.” 

John Locke, one of the greatest philosophical writers of the 
world, said: “In morality there are books enough written, both 
by ancient and modern philosophers; but the morality of the 
gospel doth so exceed them all, that, to give a man a full 
knowledge of true morality, I shall send him to no other book 
than the New Testament.” 

Daniel Webster, the greatest American statesman, said in 
one of his orations: “If we abide by the principles taught in 
the Bible our country would go on prospering and to prosper; 
but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and 
authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may 
overwhelm us, and bury all our glory in profound obscurity.” 

Thomas Jefferson said: “I have always said and always will 


162 


THE CHURCH. 


say, that the studious perusal of the sacred volume will make 
better citizens, better fathers and better husbands.” 

John Adams said: “ I have examined all, as well as my nar¬ 
row sphere, my straitened means, and my busy life would 
allow me: and the result is, that the Bible is the best book in 
the world.” 

Andrew Jackson, pointing to the Bible during his last illness, 
said to a friend: u That book, see, is the rock on which our 
republic rests.” 

Patrick Henry said of the Bible: u It is worth all the other 
books that have ever been printed.” 

We might add many other names, but these are sufficient to 
enable us to see what the greatest and most distinguished men 
of the world have thought and said of the Bible. How thank¬ 
ful we should be that we have it to read, to study, and show 
us the way to heaven. 


POPULAR PREACHING. 


REV. E. P. HERBRUCK, A. M., AKRON, 0. 


CRHAPS THE simplest definition of popular 
preaching is gospel preaching. There is a consti¬ 
tutional affinity between man’s soul and God’s 
word which indicates very plainly the proper and 
most acceptable theme for the pulpit. The people 
want the truth in its purity. The minister, who 
gives them that, has wound a tie about their hearts 
which binds them mightily to himself. The doctrine of the 
cross, which has proven so great an attraction through the 
centuries, has not lost its magnetic power, but still lays for¬ 
cible hold upon men. 

Popular preachers may differ in the manner of their address, 
but all agree in the matter. Joseph Parker reads his sermons 
without lifting his eye from the manuscript, yet his message 
is the “old old story.” John Hall, the distinguished Amer¬ 
ican, speaks from notes in very refined and polished diction. 












THE CHURCH. 


163 


yet the burden of his discourses is redemption through Christ. 
Dr. Talmage appears before his tabernacle audiences upon 
an open platform, without scrap of notes, throwing voice, 
eyes, hands and body into his delivery, yet his unvarying 
theme is the Crucified. The one thing positively essential to 
the successful minister among any people is the constant use 
of divine revelation. Beyond that, it is difficult to indicate 
any uniform or conventional qualifications. To take up any 
particular man and analyze him for the purpose of discover¬ 
ing the certain characteristics of a popular, preacher would be 
confusing and misleading, for no two ministers in a thousand re¬ 
semble each other. Could we even find a number who fit into 
a certain mold, as to features, voice and manner, they would 
probably differ in the measure of their success, and thus, after 
all, furnish us no standard for estimation. There is but one 
person whom we can safely make our model. It is he “who 
spake as never man spake.” He alone can be studied and 
imitated with satisf actory results. 

This great teacher gives us an illustration of what may be 
termed popular preaching in his life at Capernaum. Accord¬ 
ing to his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath 
day, and, taking the Book, read a short passage from the 
prophecy of Isaiah as the basis of some remarks. At the 
conclusion of his address, we are told, “ all bare him witness, 
and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of 
his mouth.” He evidently succeeded in making a deep im¬ 
pression upon the minds of his hearers, and that not so much 
by the form as by the substance of what he said. From this 
model sermon we may learn a few things that conduce to make 
preaching popular. 

I. The text was well selected and brought out the truth to 
be conveyed in a striking manner. The Bible has a wonder¬ 
ful diversity of themes and illustrations. It has something to 
suit every emergency in life without any twisting or turning. 
There is no occasion for committing violence upon exegesis by 
forcing a passage to conform with circumstances. If the 
preacher wishes to cry warning to the rich, he finds a very 
appropriate example in the case of Solomon. If he desires to 
rebuke the hypocritical, he may justly repeat the Savior’s 
words, u Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees.” If he wishes 


164 


THE CHURCH. 


to prove the sinfulness of man, he can do it by “line upon 
line,” without citing that “Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that 
was lame in both his feet.” If he wishes to show the love of 
God he can do so without indulging in the recitation of 
obscure Hebrew poetry. There is much in the choice of a 
text. When it is not appropriate, the people may admire the 
ingenuity of the preacher and the novelty of his methods, but 
they will not, therefore, regard him popular. 

II. The sermon should be the natural outgrowth of the 
text. It should be a logical deduction from and not some¬ 
thing put into the text. It should be the Scripture explained 
and applied in such a way as to prove food for the head and 
the heart. Men are spiritually hungry. There is nothing in 
the world that can still that hunger. After they have been 
engaged in the work and business of life during the week, the 
soul longs for something to satisfy its needs. This cannot be 
done by essays on science or history, by humor, anecdote or 
fiction. These all are as empty husks. The only nourishing 
diet for them is the eternal word, even Jesus Christ. He is 
the “bread from heaven,” the manna of the soul, whom we 
should preach. 

III. The manner also has something to do with giving force 
to the matter. A simple statement of doctrine, or a dry col¬ 
lection of facts, can scarcely be called popular preaching. 
The Savior spoke in such a way that his hearers became in¬ 
tensely interested. He made them to understand that he was 
a man among men and had sympathy for them. He was ten¬ 
der, devout, natural. His thoughts were not so much from 
books and memory as from life and nature. He avoided the 
pompous diction of the conventional orator and used plain, 
every-day language. His aim was not to cram the mind with 
his own ideas, but to suggest thoughts and set the people to 
thinking. He was logical, but not scholastic, deep, but not 
abstruse. He used the personal argument with great effect, 
and did not strive to see how near he could come without hit¬ 
ting. Having heard him, no one could f ail to see the tendency 
of his remarks. His desire was not to secure the applause of 
men, but to become popular by really instructing and eleva¬ 
ting them. Hence his preaching had not the hollow monotony 
of so many of the pulpits of to-day. 


CHURCH ATTENDANCE. 



REV. 0. E. LAKE, A. M., SHELBY, 0. 


ITTENDANCE AT the public services of the sanc¬ 
tuary is both a privilege and duty, yet by far too 
many are not found in its public assemblies, and 
by their actions seem to say, u Who is the Lord 
that we should serve him?” No doubt, if these 
delinquents were called to an account, they would 
all, with one consent, begin to make excuse. 

The man of the world is ready to say, “ I am no member 
of the church, and am under no obligations to attend.” Such, 
however, should not forget that they are under the most sol¬ 
emn obligations to be members of the church and attend 
upon all her ordinances, and that a neglect of duty does not 
free them from responsibility. For, if it did, then one could 
wash away his sins in his own pollutions. 

The haughty stay away from church, because they are not 
willing to have their faults exposed and sins condemned. 
They love darkness rather than light because their deeds are 
evil, neither will they come to the light lest their deeds be re¬ 
proved. All such prefer darkness and death, to light and 
life. 

Not a few plead a want of time as an excuse. Those who 
make this excuse, generally find time for every thing else, 
not excepting Sunday visiting and other unnecessary indul¬ 
gence. This excuse seems worthless when we remember that 
God has given us six days out of seven to labor and do all our 
work, and has reserved the seventh to be devoted to his ser¬ 


vice. 

Others say, u There are so many denominations that we are 
unable to decide which to attend.” True, there are different 
denominations, yet nearly all hold the fundamental doctrines 
of Christianity and differ only in matters that are unessential. 
In these there is certainly variety enough to meet the views 
of the most critical, so that they may be able to find a sanc¬ 
tuary of their choice and join in the worship of God. 








THE CHURCH. 


166 

Others again say, u We do not feel like attending church.” 
If feeling were an infallible bar, from which there is no 
appeal, this excuse might be valid, but our service to God is 
not merely a will-worship, but we are to serve God from prin¬ 
ciple, and do good even though our hearts be not inclined. 
“ Duty is ours, results are God’s.” 

Some say, “We can serve God at home so that there is no 
need of going to church.” Home religion is very important, 
hut when it does not get away from home and find expression 
in the service of the Lord’s house, it is like home charity, both 
selfish and defective. The true inwardness of these home 
devotees reveals a strange medley, though they may assume a 
superior piety and complain of every one from the parson to 
the sexton, and rejoice in their separation from the church as 
an unclean thing, yet after all they are really sore-heads, and 
even dead-heads, and are lying off for repairs. No doubt 
many of them were known as the “ old wheel horses,” and 
worked well in the old team, but when things became a little 
.new, perhaps a new church, new officers, a new pastor, or new 
enterprises, they jumped the traces and concluded to serve 
God at home. Others, again, were known as the u bell sheep,” 
whose prompt and efficient services were always announced 
by the tinkling of the bell, and all passed off charmingly till 
the clapper dropped out, al ter which they, too, served God at 
home, under their own vine and fig tree. Others, again, who 
were known as mighty in wind instruments, and made things 
musical in general, till some one shut off the wind; since then 
they, too, have been serving God at home. 

Others were carried about till the church became weary, so 
that the chip tilted, and off they went and joined the home 
circle. So, throughout this medley crowd, all have some 
excuse, and with one consent have concluded they can wor¬ 
ship God at home and there is no need of going to church. 

There are others who belong to the different orders, and 
think they are excusable for not attending church, because 
they attend regularly upon the meetings of their order, and 
with no little satisfaction assure themselves that their order is 
as good, if not better, than the church. These persons should, 
however, remember that these orders have no Savior, no means 
of grace, no eternal life to offer, as these are found in the 


THE CHURCH. 


167 

church alone, and that they could with equal certainty obtain 
salvation of a first class rail road company, or a well organized 
manufacturing establishment, or even an agricultural society, 
as well as of these different orders, as all human organizations 
are upon a level and are equally helpless in procuring salva¬ 
tion. Any one who will neglect the church because he is a 
faithful member of his order, is simply deceiving himself. 
For however good such institutions may be, or whatever men 
may think of the church, it is after all the only institution 
ordained of God for the salvation of the world. Men may 
follow their “ craft,” and build their character under the u all 
seeing eye,” and use the “ trowel” as skillfully as the banner, 
and erect their massive walls by the exact requirements of the 
“square and compass,” yet, if the building rests upon the sand, 
its destruction is inevitable, so that it will soon be recorded, 
“ The rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew 
and beat upon that house: and it fell and great was the fall 
of it.” A log cabin built upon the rock is safer and better 
than a palace built upon the sand. 

O for a shelter in distress, 

For refuge, Lord to thee we cry, 

O may our building safely rest, 

On the rock that’s higher than I. 

We might pursue these excuses, from Sunday sickness to 
downright atheism, and see how vain they are. Yet they rise 
mountain high and keep multitudes from attending church. 
The question, “How shall this barrier be removed and the 
delinquents induced to attend church,” is a very important, 
one. 

It would be of great importance if the persons alluded to 
would lay aside their excuses and complaints, and meet the 
question on its true merits, and apply the same logic used in 
their business enterprises. All should consider it a positive 
duty which they owe to God, to themselves, and to their fellow 
men, to attend church. This duty is enforced bj 7 " the history 
of God’s people, and the admonition of his word, “Forsake 
not the assembling of yourselves together.” 

There must be a fixed principle and definite purpose to 
attend church, that it may become a habit of life, as it was 


THE CHURCH. 


168 

with David, who said, “ One thing have I desired of the Lord, 
that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the 
Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, 
and to inquire in his temple.” 

While there must be a fixed principle and a definite purpose 
to attend church, there should also be connected with it the 
special object, not only to desire to dwell in the house of the 
Lord, but also to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire 
in his temple. Any one having these motives will find it a 
pleasure to attend church. 

There are others with whom the great question is, “Will it 
pay?” Looking upon the subject from a utilitarian standpoint 
it may be safely affirmed that no service yields so great, certain 
and honorable reward as the service of God, and that the 
Lord’s day can be spent no where with as much profit as in his 
house. The benefits are great, embracing both time and 
eternity, as well as the highest interests of man’s physical and 
spiritual nature. These benefits are twofold, acting as a pre¬ 
vention of evil and the conferring of great good. The Lord’s 
day, with its public service, is especially adapted to the wants 
of man, and was made for his benefit. The sanctuary is still 
a Mount Zion, standing out and above the world, so that the 
worshiper as he ascends the hill of the Lord finds a purer, 
higher and more delightful atmosphere, where the cares and 
burdens of the work vanish amid the beatific vision of the 
soul, as it soars far above the world and is wafted by heavenly 
inspiration to a nearer and clearer view of that heavenly 
Canaan, the rest that remaineth for the people of God. 
Blessed are the tribes that go up statedly to worship the Lord l 

0 Lord incline our weary feet, 

To stand on Zion’s sacred hill, 

And there, within his temple meet 
To seek, to know, and do thy will. 


CONGREGATIONAL WORK. 



REV. W. A. HALE, DAYTON, 0. 


RGANIZATION OF believers into churches con¬ 
templates two essential features of the work of the 
evangelization of the world, as committed to our 
care by the great shepherd of the fold. First, the 
stated preaching of the word and the observance 
of the sacraments, and, secondly, the employment 
of all the members of the church in the extension of the 
kingdom of God in the earth. We are confronted with no 
more complex problem than that of internal church organiza¬ 
tion. The general church government, valuable as it is, affords 
only the merest outline of warfare in the promulgation of the 
gospel of the Son of God. The securing and keeping of con¬ 
verts, with the rooting and grounding of believers in the 
truth, the proper execution of the various departments of 
church work, require more thorough and vital identification 
with the body of Christ than the mere acceptance of the creed 
and discipline of any of the churches. 

There is more work to do than is possible for any pastor. 
No pastor is able, even if he were disposed to assume the 
entire labor of a congregation of ordinary size, to successfully 
attend to the various duties that arise from every direction. 
There are duties and interests that naturally belong to laymen, 
who are often more competent to do this work than the pastor. 
The voluntary assumption of church membership is a public 
declaration of an earnest desire to be saved, and of a willing¬ 
ness to discharge the duties incumbent upon us. The neglect 
of pastors to avail themselves of the implied and expressed 
willingness of professors of religion to be useful laborers in 
our Lord’s vineyard, has resulted in very great injury to both 
church and pastor. Additions may be multiplied, the member¬ 
ship increased, but it is building on the sand. The spiritual 
mortality, where the laity are only hearers and not doers of the 
word, will be lamentably great. They are called to be saints , 
and commanded to u go work.” 


12 





170 


THE CHURCH. 


Pastors are often discouraged at the indisposition to recog¬ 
nize and assume the responsibility of church work manifested 
by members of their congregations. They have preached 
forcible and penetrating sermons upon personal work; duty 
has been analyzed and arrayed in the most charming and 
fascinating dress; the man with one talent has been arraigned, 
tried, convicted and sentenced; the thunders of the judgment 
to come have been hurled against the defenseless head of the 
idler; but the effect has been as evanescent as the morning 
cloud. Popular ideas and notions of personal responsibility 
must be conformed to the scriptural standard. Popular ideas 
and notions are children of example. Men live as they see 
others live, and are satisfied if their lives bear favorable com¬ 
parison with those of clergyman. No pastor can hope to have 
those under his care become active personal workers in 
Christ’s kingdom, before he has given them practical demon¬ 
stration of its value. This end can be attained only by 
preaching the gospel from the altar in every family. He must 
insist upon the church’s right to each member’s hearty 
co-operation, and he must give them work to do. The gospel 
must have feet to run the errands of grace, hands to work, 
and hearts to glow under the light of immortal life. Human 
tongues must tell the story of the cross, or it will remain 
untold. 

Each professor of religion is under the most solemn obliga¬ 
tion to let his light so shine before men, that they, seeing his 
good works, may be led to accept and glorify the Christ of 
God. When the membership has been impressed with the 
above truth, and moved by a sense of personal obligation to 
become workers, the cause of Christ will be best subserved by 
systematic organization. While the churches of Christ bear 
the most marked features in common, there is that peculiar to 
each which makes it unlike all the others. Work upon the 
systematic plan must be conducted in the light of the wants 
of the congregation. Missions, charities, Sunday-schools, 
visitation of the sick, &c., suggest the importance of system¬ 
atic work, and while making such classification of the 
interests of the congregation, the members will arrange them- 
• selves naturally under the various divisions. 

That such a system is desirable, cannot fail to impress every 


THE CHURCH. 


171 

•candid servant of God. The diversity of gifts among us 
requires diversity of employment. The capable, prudent, 
modest lay member will have a hesitancy, at least a delicacy, 
about thrusting himself forward; but lay upon him the obli¬ 
gation to secure the success of some definite interest, clothe 
him with authority to act, and you will be rewarded with zeal¬ 
ous industry on the part of those who were idlers in the pres¬ 
ence of a ripened harvest; and there will be no longer occasion 
to make the most sacred offices of the church means of grace 
to arrest the backsliding of uninterested professors of religion. 

The false impression, that the pastor and official board of 
the church are alone responsible for the succqss of the congre¬ 
gation, can be corrected only by confronting every member 
with his personal responsibility, making duty as omnipresent 
as necessity, as imperative as destiny, and pitiless as death. 
No man dare decline duty and hope to be saved. 

Since the beginning of the work of grace, the success of the 
church has been in a large measure due to the consecrated 
efforts of Christian women—the unordained deaconesses of 
the church of the living God. That religion, which contemplates 
the unrestricted exercise, under the direction of the Holy 
Spirit, of all the powers of mind and heart of all believers, has 
been made to bear the shame of a barbarism in perverting 
woman’s mission. False and fatal standards have been erected 
for her attainment, cruel and revolting ideals set up for her 
imitation and worship, the outgrowth of a diseased imagination 
and darkened understanding, without the least warrant in the 
word of God. As well mantle the sun, if it were possible, and 
bewail the darkness and sterility of nature, as to hide woman 
away in a cloister, or fetter her loving heart and willing hands, 
and then mourn qver the unknown cause of the church's 
inefficiency. She is as essential to the conquests of faith as she 
was to the incarnation. Her work will ever bear the genuine¬ 
ness of true sympathy and love, and her advancement wel¬ 
comed by the lost and suffering, as the approach of the “rosy 
fingered dawn,” sweet prophetess of the glorious day. The 
waters of the river of life flow along the channels of affection, 
love and friendship. Human sympathy must prepare the way 
for the work of grace. Oh how many are perishing who could 
be saved if we would only extend our sympathy and encourage- 


THE CHURCH. 


172 

ment, while we have enough and to spare garnered in our 
churches, they famish, they die. May not some handsfull of 
the joys and consolations of the good seed of life be cast to the 
heart-sick gleaner, who, if thus encouraged, would gladly 
exclaim, “ Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God,, 
and whither thou goest I will go, and where thou diest there will 
I die,” The Lord do so to me and more also, if aught but death 
part thee and me.” May we not weave some of these threads- 
of humanity into the glorious garments of Zion ? May we not 
set some of these immortal gems in the crown of resplendent 
excellency, that shall be his when he is crowned Lord of all?' 
The cultivation of this garden of sympathy belongs, by right of 
eminent fitness, to woman. She is best qualified to work 
among the youth of the congregation. She knows the avenues- 
that lead to the heart, she can interpret the complex yearnings 
of the soul. Aided by pre-eminent intuition she is queen in 
the nursery of the congregation, as she is also queen in our 
homes. 

In the systematic plan of congregational work no system 
will prove effective that overlooks the large scope of useful¬ 
ness that woman may claim as her own. Missions, charities,, 
the sick, the stranger, &c., all are dependent, in a great degree,, 
upon her for proper care and support, without her these inter¬ 
ests will languish and perish. Her mission is not that of a 
beggar, in which capacity she often appears, but of a minister¬ 
ing spirit sent to minister to such as are being saved. 

That congregation that gives to each member something to 
do will witness with delight a healthy, substantial growth in 
numbers, grace and knowledge. And the living influence of 
industry and zeal will call forth the exclamation: 

“ ’Twas the same love that spread the feast. 

That sweetly forced me in ; 

Else I had still refused to taste, 

And perished in my sin.” 



THE PRAYER-MEETING. 



AN’S PRAYER and God’s mercy are like two 
buckets in a well, while the one ascends, the 
other descends .”—Bishop Hop>kins. 

“Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to 
God, and a scourge to Satan .”—John Bunyan. 

“We never need prayer so much as when we 
are indisposed for it.”— Mrs. Cameron. 

Christianity rightly practiced is far more than a mere Sun- 
day-religion. It is more also than the mere regulation of 
human conduct in the business-transactions of life. It is the 
binding back of the soul to God and the communion of man 
with his Maker. 

Christianity is also pre-eminently a religion of prayer. 
Jesus of Nazareth, its divine founder, stands put before 
our minds in his wondrous history as having been especially 
a man of prayer. 


“ Cold mountains and the midnight air 
Witnessed the fervor of his prayer.” 


In the history of the early Christian church, we often read 
of the apostles and disciples of Jesus being assembled for 
prayer. 

“ Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath, 

The Christian’s native air.” 

One of the most beautiful customs of the modern Christian 
church, in almost all denominations, is the weekly prayer¬ 
meeting, and it is most intimately associated with the piety 
and the spiritual growth of the people of God. 

Some one has very aptly said that u the praver-meeting is 
the barometer of the church.” We propose to take this 
truthful utterance and illustration as the key-note of this 
article. 

What is a barometer? It is a seemingly simple, but skill¬ 
fully constructed instrument, which tells the weight or pres- 









THE CHURCH. 


174 

sure of the atmosphere, and hence indicates and fortell® 
changes in the weather. The barometer, which is commonly 
sold for popular use, is really a combination of the thermom¬ 
eter and barometer, strictly speaking, and hence indicates the 
temperature of the atmosphere, as well as its pressure; it tells 
us how hot or cold it is, as well as what changes in the weather 
wdll soon occur. It is to this kind of a barometer that we 
liken the prayer-meeting. 

The prayer-meeting indicates the real state of the atmos¬ 
phere of the church. It is comparatively easy for many peo¬ 
ple to attend the Sunday services of the church. It gives 
them moral respectability in the community; it makes the 
Sabbath a more pleasant and interesting day; it is a real rest 
and relief to them, after the busy cares and toils of the w r eek;„ 
and, especially on Sabbath morning, they feel fresh and ready 
to go somewhere and do something. But it is not so with the 
prayer-meeting. This comes in the very midst of week-day 
toils and ambitions; special arrangements must often be 
made about business or professional labors and engagements; 
probably people are wearied, because of the labors of the day, 
or, in towns and villages especially, there is such a strong 
temptation to go to the stores and offices, where a company of 
men gather to retail the town’s gossip, and discuss political and 
business and local matters; in the city, there, perhaps, is the 
club-room meeting, or public lecture, or concert, or other 
entertainments, of which men must deny themselves, if they 
go to the prayer-meeting. Thus the prayer-meeting is the 
most sincere, thorough and searching test and proof of the 
real spiritual state of any Christian church. But those, whose 
hearts are warm, will cheerfully make these self-denials,, 
because of their love for the house of prayer and the com¬ 
munion of saints in the prayerful fellowship of the house of 
God. 

Again, the prayer-meeting is the barometer of the church, 
because it will surely indicate any special changes, which are 
to soon occur in the life and work of the church. Perhaps no 
better, nor more wonderful illustration of this fact can be seen 
than in the relation of prayer-meetings to the great American 
revival of 1857-58. Before that time the national condition 
had been gradually growing worse religiously. Worldliness,, 


THE CHURCH. 


175 

selfishness, unparalleled greed of gain, unscrupulous specula¬ 
tion, religious indifference and hypocrisy and dead formal¬ 
ism in the church, and alarming godlessness and growing 
wickedness out of the church, pervaded all classes, and 
seemed about to shake the very foundations of society. Good 
people began to despair, and wise, thoughtful men shook their 
heads in doubt as to whether the tide of scepticism, moral 
recklessness and oncoming immorality could be stayed and 
turned. Then came the awful financial crisis of the 14th of 
October, 1857, and in the crash of huge business enterprises 
and the wreck of great fortunes, the baubles of human pride 
and greed burst, and u the vanity of earthly riches” was writ¬ 
ten, as it were by the finger of God, on the speculations, am¬ 
bitions, and gigantic business schemes of the world, and indel- 
libly impressed upon the hearts and consciences of men. All 
were now; ready to pray. Christians grew more hopeful as 
they saw a strangely increasing interest in the prayer-meetings 
of the church. Business men’s prayer-meetings became num¬ 
erous, and were mighty in numbers as well as in supplication 
to God. In the old Dutch Church on Fulton Street, New York 
City, three persons constituted the first business men’s weekly 
prayer-meeting; the second meeting was composed of six per* 
sons; the third of twenty; and then it was changed to a daily 
meeting for prayer and praise. The newspapers noticed and 
encouraged it, and it Avas not long until three crowded prayer- 
meetings in three large halls, one above the other in the same 
building, were pouring forth supplications unto God at the 
same hour of noon each week-day. Still the throng increased. 
John-Street Methodist Church and the lecture room were 
opened for prayer, and crowded to their utmost capacity; 
Burton’s old Theatre was crowded at the mid-day hour with 
such a multitude to engage in prayer to God, as never crowded 
that popular pleasure-resort to witness the most thrilling 
scenes and star-actors of the stage. In Philadelphia, Jayne’s 
large hall was filled to overflowing at the noon prayer-meet¬ 
ing. Similar scenes were witnessed at Chicago, Cincinnati, 
and other large cities. “ So pervading was the interest 
throughout the Western States, that it was said, from Nebraska 
to Washington there was an unbroken line of prayer-meetings 
along the entire length of the road; 4 so that, wherever a 


THE CHURCH. 


176 

Christian traveler stopped to spend the evening, he could find 
a crowded prayer-meeting across the entire breadth of our vast 
Republic.’ ” 

The prayer-meeting was a true and faithful barometer of 
the church at that time, for, in the wake of it, came the mar¬ 
velous revival of 1858, in which it is estimated by good author¬ 
ity, that at least three hundred thousand souls were hopefully 
converted to Christ. Perhaps no other service of the church 
is more delicately sensitive to any change for better or worse 
in the spiritual atmosphere of the congregation than the 
prayer-meeting, and, as scientific men use it to measure the 
heighth of mountains, determining this according to the weight 
and pressure of the atmosphere as indicated by this simple 
little instrument, so the faithful pastor can tell much of the 
heighth and depth of the piety, zeal, love and consecration of 
the church by this spiritual barometer, the prayer-meeting. 
Like the material instrument, so the prayer-meeting changes 
only according to the pressure of the spiritual atmosphere 
about it, and this and all immediate changes it most accurately 
and faithfully indicates. 

We append a few practical rules about prayer-meetings: 

1. Remember that the prayer-meeeting will not and cannot 
succeed of itself. But if it “is not a success,” remember “it 
can be made so.” “The gods sell us everything for labor,” 
was a truthful ancient proverb among the Greeks. 

2. Look well to the details: the music, the comfortable¬ 
ness of the room; be prompt and regular in opening and clos¬ 
ing the services, prepare well for them, and set a good exam¬ 
ple in them. 

3. Remember that the prayer-meeting is a week-day meet¬ 
ing, and adapt it to the week-day life of the people. 

4. Have variety, have appropriate services for special 
times, New Year, Christmas, Passion Week, the birthdays of 
great Christian men, and similar occasions. 

5. Combine sociability with devotion. 

6. Make the people see and feel how intimately associated 
the prayer-meeting is with the life, power and growth of the 
church. It has been well said, that the pastor of a church 
“can stand an empty purse better than an empty prayer¬ 
meeting.” 


THE POSTURE IN PUBLIC PRAYER. 



PROF. A. S. ZERBE, PII. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


RAYER IS an essential element in congregational 
worship. The substance of prayer is obviously of 
the first importance, and decides, so far as the 
Being addressed is concerned, the character of 
this means of grace. As, however, one attitude or 
another must be assumed, different churches differ 
in the use of the three principal postures, standing, 
kneeling and sitting. In some denominations a part of the 
people kneel in prayer and others remain sitting; in some, a 
portion of the congregation stand in prayer and the remainder 
will be found sitting; while in others still, the people neither 
kneel nor stand, but remain sitting, as if they were listening 
to a sermon. It would be well if Christians of every name 
could be brought to adopt a uniform mode, but in the absence 
of this, it is at all events desirable, for the sake of order and 
harmony, that each denomination should, so far as it may be, 
conform to the same posture in all its churches. 

The ancient Hebrews were accustomed to different postures 
in public prayer. Omitting the less usual attitudes, kneeling 
was the mode in some cases, but generally only in deep humil¬ 
ity, when this posture was regarded as most appropriate, and 
was in a manner spontaneously adopted. So far as the evi¬ 
dence of the Old Testament extends, it seems clear that the 
posture of worshipers in public prayer was that of standing, 
with the arms stretched out toward heaven. The devout Jew, 
in prayer, turned his face toward Jerusalem, and, should he 
be in the holy city, he turned it toward the temple, himself 
standing all the while; The passages referring to this mode 
are numerous: I. Kings viii. 22, “ And Solomon stood before 
the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation 
of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven; ” as also 
Exod. xxxiii. 10, “And all the people saw the cloudy pillar 
stand at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose up and 
worshiped;” In I. Samuel i. 16, Hannah is the woman “that 










THE CHURCH. 


178 

stood praying unto the Lord.” To these passages might be 
added I. Kings viii. 14, II. Chron. vi. 13, and others. Indeed 
it is generally conceded that the Hebrews prayed, ordinarily, 
in the attitude of standing, an attitude which was observed in 
the synagogue. 

In the early Christian church the attitude was likewise, that 
of standing. The first Christian teachers sometimes used the 
Jewish places of worship in imparting instruction to the peo¬ 
ple, and would naturally conform, in this matter, to the usages 
to which the people had been accustomed under the old order 
of things. The early Christian church also observed, on Sun¬ 
day, a standing posture, in memory of the Savior’s resurrec¬ 
tion from the dead, as well as in reference to the forgiveness 
of sin and the Christian’s hope of heaven. The same mode 
Avas observed during the week-days on the fifty days between 
Easter and Whitsuntide, “as a symbol of the resurrection,, 
whereby through the grace of Christ the Christian rises again 
from the fall.” In the apostolical constitutions it is expressly 
provided that Christians pray three* times on the Lord’s day, 
standing, in honor of him who rose the third day from the 
dead. 

In the writings of Chrysostom the allusions to the same 
practice are numerous, more particularly in the words used by 
the deacons in calling upon the people: u Let us stand upright 
with reverence and decency.” Tertullian is careful to say r 
“ We count it unlawful to fast, or worship kneeling, on the 
Lord’s day, and we enjoy the same immunity from Easter to 
Pentecost.” There were none exceptions to this mode, but for 
the sake of uniformity the Council of Nice, in 325 A. D. con¬ 
firmed the same practice. Upon this the Ethiopic and 
Museovitison churches introduced the attitude of standing,, 
and continue it to the present day. Such was the general 
practice of ancient churches. And the historian Neander, 
treating of a period somewhat earlier than that of Nice, says r 
“ Sunday was distinguished as a day of joy, by being ex¬ 
empted from fasts, and by the circumstance that prayer was 
performed in a standing and not in a kneeling posture, as- 
Christ, by his resurrection, has raised up fallen men again to- 
heaven.” 

During the ages succeeding the apostolic and patristic, there 


THE CHURCH. 


179 s 

was a gradual lapse into the practice of kneeling and sitting, 
until the Reformation restored the old order of things. In 
confirming the attitude observed in the ancient church, the 
Reformers made, so to speak, a standing protest against the 
sacrament of the mass and against the whole Papal system. 
It must, however, grieve all friends of order and propriety to 
observe that the pernicious practice of sitting during prayer 
is on the increase. This was not the custom of our fore¬ 
fathers, and should not be introduced at this day. But the 
practice of kneeling has its significance, and also its historical 
place, and should not be discarded. 


THE- SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 


BY REV. E. R. WILLIARD, A. M. 


HE CHILD is father of the man.”— Woi'dsworth. 

u In bringing up a child, think of its old age.”— 
Joubert. 

u Children have more need of models than of 
critic s. ’ ’— Joubert . 

u Blessed be the hand that prepares a pleasure 
for a child, for there is no saying when and 
where it may bloom forth .”—Douglass Jerrold . 
u God sends children for another purpose than merely to 
keep up the race ; to enlarge our hearts; to make us unselfish, 
and full of kindly sympathies and affections; to give our 
souls higher aims, and to call out all our facilities to ex¬ 
tended enterprise and exertion; to bring round our fireside 
bright faces and happy smiles and loving, tender hearts. 
My soul blesses the great Father every day, that he has glad¬ 
dened the earth with little children .”—Mary Howitt. 

In all ages of the world, God has commanded that the 
children should be carefully and diligently taught. To see 
how the proper training and teaching of children were en¬ 
forced and honored with promises and blessings under the 
Old Testament, it is sufficient to read simply the eleventh 
chapter of Deuteronomy. It was Christ, however, who ex- 

















ISO 


THE CHURCH. 


alted the power, privileges and claims of childhood to a place 
never before recognized by the religious teachings or prac¬ 
tices of any age, race, or people. It was Jesus of Nazareth, 
who opened new privileges to the world’s children, and who 
placed new responsibilities upon his followers in their rela¬ 
tions to the children and youth. He taught his disciples that 
it was not enough that they should simply respect and obey 
the laws of God themselves; they must also teach them unto 
others. He taught that the training and instruction of the 
children were no longer to be confined within the selfish 
bounds of one’s own family; Christians must teach the chil¬ 
dren of others also, and especially those, whose parents are 
wicked and irreligious people, and whose home influences do 
not tend to development in noble Christian character. 

The idea of a religious or churchlv school is not a modern 
invention. In the Reformed and Lutheran churches of Ger¬ 
many, Switzerland, and other parts of Europe, there were 
parochial schools in the sixteenth and seventeenth'centuries. 
These schools had many points of resemblance to our modern 
Sunday-schools, especially in their general aim and purpose. 
But, it has long been generally conceded that the honor of 
being the founder of the Sunday-school system, in its mod¬ 
ern form and character, must be ascribed to Robert Raikes, 
of Gloucester, England. For, though there had been similar 
efforts here and there, previous to that of Robert Raikes, in 
Gloucester, in July, 1780, yet it was Robert Raikes, who, 
through his newspaper and other means of public influence, 
awakened the whole nation to the necessity and importance 
of Sunday-schools, and finally had the joy of seeing them 
established far and wide throughout the kingdom. It was 
Robert Raikes, who .thus raised the Sunday-school from a 
rare and isolated moral effort and a local institution to a 
national and world’s movement in the interests of morals 
and religion. 

We know of no better definition of the Sunday-school, 
that has been given thus far, than this: “It is the church of 
God assembled to teach and to learn, by the help of the Holy 
Spirit, the word of Christ.” 

The Sunday-school, therefore, is a natural part of the 
‘Christian church, and it is a legitimate department of 


THE CHURCH. 


181 

chnrchly activity. It is not an institution outside of the 
church, alongside of the church, separate and distinct from 
the church. It is a natural part of the church, as much as 
the right arm or the lungs are a part of the human body. 
Hence, when people join the church, they ought to realize 
that they join the Sunday-school also, and that it is their 
rightful duty to attend the Sunday-school just as much as the 
preaching or the sacramental services of the church. It is 
time that the erroneous ideas inculcated by such views of 
the Sunday-school as being u the nursery of the church,” 
u the children’s institution,” and similar representations 
should be banished from the minds of the people of God. If 
anything, for the sake of example especially, it is more the 
place and duty of the older members of the church to be in 
the Sunday-school than for the little children of the fold. 

Again, the Sunday-school is the legitimate outgrowth both 
of the needs of the world in these modern days and of the 
teachings of Christ and the apostles. This modern age, with 
its glittering temptations, its enticing pitfalls, and its ten 
thousand immoral snares, most of which, in their present 
form, were unknown to former generations, demands just 
such an agency for Christian work as the Sunday-school. 
We dare not wait until our children become young men and 
women, before we try to win them for Christ, and get them 
well established in the knowledge and faith of the gospel. 
If we would thus wait, we would find to our sorrow, that the 
world had been actively at work with them in childhood, and 
had filled them with doubt and unbelief and worldliness. 
But, more than this, Jesus himself has laid it down in his 
gospel as the plain duty of Christians to teach others. Obe¬ 
dience to God’s law is not sufficient in the Christian and the 
church; Christ demands more of his followers, in order that 
they may be esteemed noble and great in that spiritual state 
or society, which he came on earth to found. u Whosoever 
therefore,” says Jesus, u shall break one of these least com¬ 
mandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the 
least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do 
and teach them, the same shall be called great in the king¬ 
dom of heaven.” Is it a mere fancy or imagination to say, 
that Jesus was even then looking adown the centuries, and 


182 


THE CHURCH. 


that he saw the great teaching opportunities and usefulness 
of his church in such agencies as the Sunday-school of 
to-day? 

Further, the Sunday-school is admirably adapted to pro¬ 
mote the best sociability of the church. Religion, to be 
attractive and to be what Christ intended it to be, must be 
happily social. The Bible idea of the church is that it is a 
spiritual household, the family of the Lord’s people, and as 
such, it should be characterized by that free, merry and cor¬ 
dial sociability, that makes the family fireside a litteral ful¬ 
fillment of the old German proverb, “ East and West, at 
home the best.” What a delightful scene of Christian socia¬ 
bility it is to look over a busy, interesting Sunday-school, 
and see scholars and teachers gathered in such pleasant 
sociable groups, studying the word of God! In the Sunday- 
school, our ideals of Christian sociability can be realized 
better than in any other religious service of the church of 
Christ. It is to be regretted, however, that officers and 
teachers neglect to make the Sunday-school as social as it 
might often be made. There ought to be frequent Sunday- 
school socials ; every teacher ought to visit every member of 
his class, and encourage the scholars to visit their teacher in 
return; and no teacher ought to allow the year to go by with¬ 
out having his class at his home for dinner or tea, or to spend 
the day or evening. It would not only give the teacher more 
immediate influence in his Sunday-school work, and enable 
him to get more fully and heartily into the inmost lives and 
souls of the scholars, but a social Sunday-school would, in 
time at least, make a social church. 

The Sunday-school fortunately exerts its deepest and most 
powerful influence upon the young at that period of life when 
the aims, habits, ambitions and thoughts can be most easily 
and lastingly turned in the right channels. Upon this point, 
the testimony of Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, who was 
Governor of Georgia at the time of his death, is most apt and 
forcible. “In a letter to a dear friend Mr. Stephens speaks 
of his boyhood, and, with the rest, of his starting him off to 
Sunday-school. He says : c That start to Sunday-school was 
an epoch in my life. It was then that I first took a taste for 
reading. It was in the summer of 1824; I was a little over 


THE CHURCH. 


183 

twelve years of age. All my reading had been limited to the 
spelling book and New Testament. At this Sunday-school 
Ave had the Sunday-school Union Question Book, which was 
a new thing in the country at that time.’ From this time 
forward he made very rapid progress. He went through 
chapter after chapter, never missiilg a question. This rapid 
progress attracted attention and secured such assistance as 
put him upon the track of subsequent greatness.” 

The Sunday-school is not intended to take the place of 
home and parental religious instruction. No father or mother, 
with a true parental heart, would even be willing to transfer 
the whole religious training and teaching of the child into 
the hands of any Sunday-school teacher, nor will God excuse 
any such parents on the day of judgment from having dis¬ 
charged these solemn duties. 

Socrates, the great Grecian philosopher, used to say that 
if he could get up to the highest place in Athens, he A\ r ould 
lift up his voice and proclaim, w What mean ye, felloAV- 
citizens, that ye turn every stone to scrape Avealth together, 
and take so little care of your children, to whom one day ye 
must relinquish it all ?” 

Many a young man, however, can truthfully say of careless 
and undutiful parents, as the little boy said to his irreligious 
mother, as she tried to smooth his dying pillow Avith her soft 
hand: u Oh, mother! you have never taught me anything 
about Jesus, and, had it not been for the Sunday-school 
teachers, I should now be dying without a hope in him, and 
must haA r e been lost forever.” 

Nor is the Sunday-school an institution, that relieves 
preachers of the gospel from ministering to children. Per¬ 
haps one very natural explanation of the fact that there are 
so feAV children in so many congregations is because there is 
such u little food for the lambs of the fold,” that falls from 
the pulpit. To hear some ministers preach, you would sup¬ 
pose that either there were no children in the world, or that 
Christianity and the church had nothing to do with them, 
and no place for “ the little folks.” Many *a pastor errs in 
seeming to think that the Sunday-school has relieved him 
from all care of the children. Said Rev. James Hamilton, 
one of the most successful preachers of Scotland in modern 


184 


THE CHURCH. 


days, as he was about dying, “Were I to live my ministry 
over again, I would pay more attention to the children.” 

General William Henry Harrison, President of the United 
States, who himself taught for years in an humble Sunday- 
school on the banks of the Ohio, and who taught his Bible- 
class the very last Sabbath before he went to Washington 
City to become the Chief Magistrate of this mighty nation, 
when, a short time before his lamented death, he was 
advised by his gardener to keep a watch dog to protect his 
fruit, wisely replied that he would “ rather set a Sabbath- 
school teacher to take care of the boys.” 

The following Sunday-school statistics of the world speak 
more eloquently than words could tell of the marvelous 
growth, mighty power and possible usefulness of the Sunday- 
school of to-day, and one of the noblest tributes to America’s 
national greatness and prosperity, is that we are the foremost 
Sunday-school nation on the face of the earth: 


Sunday-school Scholars in the World.13,063,523 

“ “ Teachers “ “ “ .. 1,559,823 

Total.14,623,346 


Of this great multitude of Sunday-school Teachers and 
Scholars throughout the world, according to the report of the 
Third International Sunday-school Convention, held in 
Toronto, Canada, June 22nd, 23d and 24th, 1881, it is estimat¬ 
ed that there are in the United States alone, 


Sunday-schools... 84,730^ 

Sunday-school Scholars.6,820,835 

“ “ Teachers.. 932,283 


Total of Teachers and Scholars.7,753,118- 











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MISSIONARY WORK. 



REV. J. M. KENDIG, CANTON, 0. 


HE CHURCH must engage in missionary work. 
And what is true of the church is true of every 
member. For, to engage in such work, is to do 
that which Jesus commanded, when he said: 
u Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptiz¬ 
ing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” 

For eighteen centuries the gospel has been 
preached, and yet the field is an ever widening 
one. Of the twelve hundred millions of the world’s 
population, scarcely one-third have been reached by the 
gospel. At a glance, then, we perceive the need of activity 
on the part of the church, to bring Christ to a perishing 
world. What are the necessary elements to enable us, suc¬ 
cessfully to carry on missionary work ? 

We need to be consecrated to the work. In giving our¬ 
selves to God, as members of his church, we need also to give 
our time, talents, energies, to the work of God in the church, 
freely to regard ourselves as instruments in the Divine hand 
to use us as he will. 

Ministers are necessary to preach the gospel. The sons of 
Christian XDarents, who are pious and who manifest an aptness 
to teach, ought freely to be given to the cause of the gospel. 
Not only this, but parents ought to encourage their sons to 
enter the ministry. The young men ought, seriously and 
prayerfully, to consider whether they may not do more for 
God and humanity in the ministry, than in some other voca¬ 
tion, and if they can, they ought to preach the gospel. For, 
as Christians, we ought to please God, and do his will, rather 
than seek to please ourselves. 

Again, ministers must be educated. The missionaries, 
whether at home or in foreign lands, ought to be u master 
workmen that need not be ashamed.” Therefore must the 
church establish and support colleges and seminaries of 
learning. The demand of the age is for a devoted, conse- 


13 













186 


THE CHURCH. 


crated, self-sacrificing ministry. That is common to every 
age. God wants no other ministry. But along with that the 
age demands an educated ministry. There is demanded a 
ministry of sharp, keen intellect; a ministry possessing good 
natural powers, hut with these sharpened and cultivated by 
intercourse with pious and learned teachers; a ministry who 
can perceive the drift of the times: who observe the dangers 
and comprehend the fallacies of infidelity, and who can 
expose the sophistries of sin and unbelief to the people. The 
ministry must keep abreast with the advanced thought of 
their age, both Christian and sceptical, and have strength 
and skill to commend the one, and condemn the other. They 
must be well rooted and grounded in the faith, thoroughly 
instructed in the Word of God, and capable of using to 
advantage the truths of the Bible. Such a ministry is needed, 
and to aid in securing it, our colleges and seminaries of learn¬ 
ing have been established. They have done much good in 
the past; they will do much more in the future, if supported 
and maintained by the church. 

With a ministry reared from the sons of the church, and 
educated by her teachers, there will be funds needed for their 
support. 

In entering the missionary work, the pastor must depend 
largely upon the church in general, for his support. The few 
members in his mission are not able to do it. The world will 
not do it. Trusting in his God, and in the benevolence of 
the church, he goes among strangers, into a strange land. 
Shall he be left to suffer ? Shall he alone do the work of the 
master in enlarging the borders of the church? Perish the 
thought! The church should help by giving him support in 
temporal blessings. Since the laity do not go to preach the 
gospel, they ought to share with those who do go. The 
church ought to make liberal provisions for our missionaries, 
who have extended the home or foreign field. Let us pray 
for them that the Word of God may have free course, but let 
us also pay for their support. 

Here is the important part of the work of the laity. Every 
honest method ought to be used to train the church in giving 
liberally to missions. The members must be trained to give 
largely. The children in the Sunday-school must be taught 


THE CHURCH. 


1ST 

to cultivate this grace also; mission societies ought to be 
established, mission lectures and sermons, papers and books 
abundantly supplied to both young and old, so that all may 
become interested and take part in the missionary work. 

But there are some who do not believe in the missionary 
work of the church. Such will sometimes give liberally for 
home enterprises, but they have no heart to help the strug¬ 
gling pastor and church in Kansas, California, China or 
Japan. We have, say they, work enough at home, poor 
enough, and the heathen are at our door. That is true, but 
while we attend to heathen at home, we have abundance 
left for the heathen in foreign lands. The example of the 
Apostles teaches us how to do. They began at Jerusalem, 
but without waiting for the conversion of the entire city they 
soon left the church there in competent hands, and went 
through all the then known world. So we must do; we must 
have men to care for us in spiritual things, but when God 
separates men, like he did Saul and Barnabas, we must let 
them go, and help them go, whither God directs. 

Some say the heathen, having a law unto themselves, are 
no worse off if they do not have the gospel. God will not 
judge them if they have no knowledge of Christ. But that 
thought is clearly wrong and positively sinful, for it is in 
direct opposition to Christ’s command to u go to all nations,” 
which means heathen and barbarians, as well as civilized. 
All men shall be brought to the knowledge of God. 

People refuse to support missions because errors have been 
committed by boards of missions. It is to be regretted that 
errors have been committed, but instead of ceasing to assist, 
we ought to exercise greater care in the commissioning of 
missionaries, and in the selection of places. No work in 
missions can result wholly in a failure. Some one will be 
benefited, even if we do not see the result. 

Instead of ceasing our labors, we must increase them. 
Instead of bewailing our errors, we must try and rectify when 
we can. The entire church must learn that it is her mission 
to preach the gospel. When all the membership have been 
u endued with power from on high,” when all shall u be con¬ 
strained by the love of Christ,” then shall we see progress in 
missions as we have never yet seen. 


CHRISTIAN BENEVOLENCE. 



KEY. J. G. SHOEMAKER, WEST ALEXANDRIA, 0. 


KRISTIAN BENEVOLENCE, or almsgiving, may 
be regarded as the flowering and fruiting of the 
Christian life, and is, therefore, an essential part 
of our worship and duty. The tree which produces 
9 no fruit is barren and cumbers the ground, and 
deserves the sentence, “ Cut it down, why cum- 
bereth it the ground.” “Herein is my Father 
glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be 
my disciples,” is the language of our Savior. Healthy Chris¬ 
tianity without almsgiving is an impossibility. It stands by 
the side of prayer. Neither one nor both combined make the 
Christian. Faith makes the Christian, while prayer and giving 
are among the choicest fruit of our Christian life. There is, 
therefore, a necessity for almsgiving, not, it is true, because 
God has commanded it, nor because he cannot extend his 
kingdom without our aid, but because of the very nature of 
the Christian life, which would be incomplete without it. 
Prayer keeps the armor bright, gives exercise to faith and 
love, it is the Christian’s vital breath and native air. In this 
sense, therefore, the Christian must pray, in order to live. So 
almsgiving developes the graces, elevates and ennobles the life,, 
beautifies and adorns the character. Hence there must be 
liberality in order to a healthy, beautiful, and fruitful Chris¬ 
tianity. The tree of the Christian’s life will be filled with 
fruit, and this ought not only to be so, but it cannot be other¬ 
wise. Everything has a nature of its own. The wind will 
blow, fire will burn, water will moisten, and this cannot be 
otherwise. So life is manifested by activity, it will be filled 
with fruit. Almsgiving is the choicest fruit of this tree. 
Though placed side by side with prayer, it is more choice and 
precious in the sight of God, and is more frequently enjoined 
in the Bible, more specific directions are given in reference to 










THE CHURCH. 


189 

it, and has more and greater promises and blessings in store. 
Our Savior tells us that without self-denial and sacrifice we 
cannot be his disciples; giving exercises this grace. 

There can be no healthy Christianity without gratitude— 
thankfulness expressed with the lip only is an empty service. 
We show our gratitude to God not so much by words as by 
acts, by giving first ourselves, then our means. It is true, we 
may give from impure motives, as we may pray or commune 
improperly; but what we give may benefit the cause for 
which we bestow our alms, whilst it will have no reflex influ¬ 
ence upon ourselves, we may in this way water others, but not 
ourselves. Giving to the cause of God, whether directly or 
indirectly, to the church, for the poor and distressed, for mis¬ 
sions whether home or foreign, for church extension, for the 
education of young men for the ministry, for our colleges and 
seminaries, for the support of a Christian literature is an act 
of worship and should be engaged in with as much zeal, love 
and sincerity as any other act of worship. 

The Jews never went into the temple to pray without taking 
with them an offering. We should take our alms with us 
whenever we appear in the house of God to worship, when, as 
in the case of Cornelius, our prayers and our alms will go up 
together. 

This is certainly the only proper method of giving, to do it 
as an act of worship, for the purpose of glorifying God and 
the good of immortal souls. Hence our gifts should be liberal, 
not stinted, not made with a close calculation as to how small 
a sum, but how large an amount we can give. We should do 
this, because God deals liberally with us. No one can say in 
an absolute sense, “This is mine.” God gives us all, but in 
reality he only loans it to us during our natural life, for, we 
cannot take a penny with us to the eternal world. God gives 
us liberally all through life, and not only of the necessaries, 
but of the luxuries as well, and holds, as it were, a mortgage 
over all, and may at anytime foreclose and take from us what 
he has loaned us. To regard it simply in the light of a 
“ business transaction,” ought we not, at least, pay promptly 
the interest as it falls due? Ask yourself, fellow-borrower, 
do you pay the full interest on what he gives or entrusts to 
your keeping? “Freely ye have received, freely give.” 


190 


THE CHURCH. 


Give good measure all the time, make the bushel full, press 
it down, shake it together, make it run over, and you will 
recieve the same in return. For, “ The liberal soul shall be 
made fat,” while “he that soweth sparingly shall also reap 
sparingly.” Do not fear that you will be the sufferer by any 
thing which you may do for him and his cause. He will not 
suffer himself to be debtor to any man. 

Giving should be proportionate to our means. This principle 
is recognized everywhere in the Scriptures. The Jews, whose 
entire system of worship was prescribed by the Lord himself, 
were required to give according to their means. All of a cer¬ 
tain age were required to give the half-shekel as an atonement 
for their souls, none could give more, and none less than the 
half-shekel, to show that all stood alike, on an equality before 
God. This was the “ tribute money ” provided by our Savior 
in the mouth of the fish for himself and Peter. Then free-will 
offerings were brought as they were needed for any specific 
purpose, such as for building and the repairs of the temple, 
and last of all the “ tithes,” or tenth of all the produce of the 
land and increase of the stock on the land. Thus it will be 
seen that while the rich gave much and the poor gave little, 
all, without exception, gave something, and the amount was 
in proportion to their means. It is true the New Testament 
prescribes no specific amount, yet it inculcates the same prin¬ 
ciple of proportionate giving, saying, “Freely ye have 
received, freely give.” Paul’s rule is: “As the Lord has pros¬ 
pered us.” 

Christian giving is, moreover, cheerful, not of necessity, nor 
grudgingly, but heartily. “ The Lord loveth a cheerful giver.” 
Paul writes by divine authority when he says, “ For if there 
be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man 
hath, and not according to that he hath not.” It is only in 
this way that it becomes an act of worship. And only as an. 
act of worship should we give, not to get rid of the impor¬ 
tunity of him who asks, nor because others give, nor for 
decency’s sake, nor any other of the many motives which 
might be mentioned. 

And last of all there should be system in our giving. 
There are many different plans for collecting benevolent 
monies, but amongst all none is equal to that laid down by 


TIIE CHURCH. 


191 


Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians, when he says, “ Now 
concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the 
churches of Galatia, so also do ye. Upon the first day of the 
week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may pros¬ 
per, that no collections be made when I come.” From this 
account we infer that Paul introduced system for benevolence 
in all his churches, none better than the one here recom¬ 
mended. As to the time, the first day of the week: the 
method, lay it by. Have a treasury for the Lord, in which to 
deposit his portion, that it may be ready as the occasion pre¬ 
sents itself and as the needs appear. The amount, as you 
prosper. 


GIVING MAKES LIVING. 


T HE sun gives ever to the earth, 

What it can give so much ’tis worth ; 
The ocean gives in many ways, 

Gives paths, gives fishes, rivers, bays; 
So, too, the air, it gives us breath— 

When it stops giving comes in death. 

Give, give, be always giving, 

Who gives not is not living. 

The more you give, 

The more you live. 


God’s love hath to us wealth upheaped: 

Only by giving it is reaped. 

The body withers, and the mind, 

If pent in by selfish rind. 

Give strength, give thought, give deeds, give pelf. 
Give love, give tears, and give thyself; 


Give, give, be always giving, 
Who gives not is not living. 
The more we give, 

The more we live. 





192 


THE CHURCH. 


SCATTER YOUR GIFTS NOW. 


R OUSE to the work of high and holy love, 

And thou an angel’s happiness shalt know, 

Shalt bless the Earth while in the world below. 
The goodness begun by thee shall onward flow 
In many a branching stream and wider grow. 

The seed that in these few and fleeting hours, 

Thy hands unsparing and unwearied sow r , 

Shall deck thy grave with amaranthine flowers, 

And yield the fruit divine in heaven’s immortal bowers. 


“ SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD.” 


D EAR Savior! help us each to do 
The work that nearest lies, 

To feel that thou wilt own and bless 
The lowliest sacrifice. 

When first we gave our all to thee, 

Our prayer was—“ To be spent 
In serving thee ”—and yet, dear Lord, 

We knew not what it meant. 

Our eyes were gazing up to Thee, 

Thy work seemed far away, 

And all the while we could not see 
The life of every day. 

Our own small garden plot was nought— 
We looked beyond the wall— 

Longing to serve thee as we ought, 

Yet ivaiting for thy call: 

As though our very place in life 
Were not by thee designed, 

And just the fittest spot on earth 
The Lord’s true work to find. 






THE CHURCH. 


193 


The little things that cost ns most, 

The daily cross we bear, 

If we but bring them to thy feet, 

Thou wilt find fragrance there ; 

And though the night’s thick shadows wrap 
Our short day’s toil in gloom, 

May the eternal morning wake 
Some humble deeds to bloom. 

— N. Y. Observer . 


UNION WITH CHRIST IN THE CHURCH. 


REV. JOHN VOGT, D. D., DELAWARE, 0. 


ELIEVERS ARE in union with Christ. And this 
union is not superficial and outward, but real, 
organic and vital. Life cannot be communicated 
from one object to another, or to different parts of 
the same object, without such a union. “ I am the 
vine,” says Jesus, u ye are the branches.. He that 
abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth 
forth much fruit; for, without me ye can do nothing.” In 
Jesus Christ are at hand all the requisites for our salva¬ 
tion ; “ For it pleased the Father that in him should all f ulness 
dwell; ” and in virtue of our union with him, all these requi¬ 
sites, “wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and 
redemption,” are made over to us. Nor is this all. All our 
acts of piety, prayer, and thanksgiving, come up before God 
and find acceptance with him, through the same channel. All 
the blessings we receive from Christ, therefore, and all our 
expressions of gratitude to him, are, severally and collectively, 
positive proofs of the realness of this union. 

“And the word was made flesh.” By the power of the 
Holy Ghost, he was made the partaker of our nature, in the 
incarnation, and, by the same power, we are made partakers 
of his nature, in our ingrafting into him. And this union is 
not effected arbitrarily nor violently. Man, as a responsible 
agent, separated himself from God, and must, as such, return 












194 


THE CHURCH. 


to him, or remain in death forever: by unbelief he fell, and 
by faith only he can rise again. This union, therefore, from 
its beginning to its end, is, both objectively and subjectively, 
the product of the living spirit, and the living faith begotten 
in our hearts by him. 

Jesus is the God-man. As such he is one with the Father 
and with us. Our union with him, therefore, cannot end with 
him, but contemplates, and includes in fact, our union both 
with God and with his kingdom and church. Christ and his 
church can never be separated, and our union with him, there¬ 
fore, conditions our union with his church, which is his body. 
Men may be only nominally and outwardly united to Christ, 
like branches glued or tied to a vine, and perish in sin, but 
with such we are not concerned here. The true members of 
Christ, like the members of the body, are in real and vital 
union with him and with one another, and are pervaded and 
presided over by the same spirit and life. In one word, our 
union with the church is the legitimate and necessary out¬ 
growth of our union with God in Christ Jesus. 

All this is formally declared and sealed to us in the use of 
the Holy Sacraments. Baptism is administered but once to 
each subject, because it is the sacrament of our ingrafting into 
Christ, and our union with him and one another, which Cannot 
be repeated; while the Holy Supper is often repeated to the 
end of life, because it is the sacrament of our abiding in 
Christ, and of the unceasing flow of his grace and salvation to 
his members. There are many drops, from all parts of the 
earth, united in the baptismal water; and there are many ber¬ 
ries and grains bruised and crushed to make “ That one bread,” 
and that one u Cup of blessing; ” all proclaiming and certify¬ 
ing the true union of believers in the Church of God. “ For by 
one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we are 
Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free: and have been 
all made to drink in one Spirit.” “The cup of blessings which 
we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? 
The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the 
body of Christ? For, we being many are one bread, and one 
body; for, we are all partakers of that one bread.” 

From all this, it can easily be ascertained what it means to 
be a member of the church. It involves our separation from 


THE CHURCH. 


195 

the world, our deliverance from the power of Satan, and our 
restoration to God and one another. The important change, 
that is wrought in our relations, necessitates an equally impor¬ 
tant change in our nature and character: the regeneration of 
the heart, the washing away of sin by the blood of Christ, and 
a participation in the fulness of saving grace. It is thus that 
our feet are turned from the way of death into the way of 
life. And, as the vine does not bear fruit for itself, but for 
the husbandman, the true church member does not live for 
himself, but for Christ. To say that we are in the church, 
solely and alone, to obtain salvation, is a grievous error. From 
the moment of our entrance into the church, we belong to 
Christ only, and are bound to an unreserved submission to God, 
ready obedience to Christ’s commands, and cheerful liberality. 
True Christian fellowship, an earnest participation in the wor¬ 
ship and services of, the church, building up the institutions of 
learning, advancing the great cause of missions, caring for the 
needy and poor, prayer and faithful work in the family, the 
church, and the v r orld, constitute the church member’s true 
element and sphere of life. And this is not the effect of 
forces terminating upon us from without, but the fruit of the 
spirit and life within us. The first cry of our renewed life is. 
a cry to God, and with this it proceeds until it culminates in 
the fruition of God’s eternal presence. “ How amiable are 
thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even 
fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh 
crieth out for the living God.” 

And here, too, is clearly apparent the importance of being 
in union w r ith the church. Christ and his church are one, and 
can any one enjoy the advantages and blessings of either, 
separate from and independent of the other? We know that 
salvation from sin and eternal life are obtained and enjoyed 
in union with Christ and his church, and w T hy should w T e seek 
them anywhere else ? The objections based upon the imper¬ 
fections and hypocrisies of some church members, amount to 
nothing at all. The church does not profess to consist of 
angels and glorified saints, but of sinners saved by grace. 
There are many, too, who are not really in union with Christ 
or the church, but only outwardly attached, and for these she 
is not responsible, so that all these objections are but the man- 


196 


THE CHURCH. 


ifestations of unbelief and perverseness. “To the pure all 
things are pure,” and to the base, for the same reason, all 
things are base. God has his order in grace as well as in 
nature, and we know not that he violates it in either. The 
husbandman does not scatter his seed to the clouds, nor on the 
waves of the sea, nor on the barren desert, but into the rich, 
cultivated soil. Life flows and operates within fixed channels 
and limits. It is true, God is free, but it is just as true, that 
we are bound. We hope that the infant children of unbeliev¬ 
ers may be saved, but for all who wilfully reject Christ and 
his church, there is no ground of hope in God’s Word. There 
was safety in Noah’s Ark, and there was safety nowhere else. 
And how can it be otherwise here ? As this world will be 
deluged with God’s wrath, how T can any one escape w 7 ho does 
not enjoy his favor? Christ has provided deliverance for all 
who will accept his grace. Why then will ye die ? Come into 
the ark of God! Heaven and earth unitedly appeal to you to 
come to Christ. “And the Spirit and the bride say, come. 
And let him that heareth say, come. And let him that is 
athirst, come. And w r hosoever will, let him come and take the 
w r ater of life freely.” 


A PROFESSION OF RELIGION. 


REV. C. M. SCHAFF, A. M., NORTH LIMA, 0. 


T HAS been truly said that “ religion is the chief 
concern of mortals here below.” The world’s lit¬ 
erature and life, in all ages, prove that it is a sub¬ 
ject of the utmost importance. Man’s nature is 
essentially religious, and wherever we meet him, 
we find him practicing some sort of religion. 
That there is, however, a great deal of apparent 
indifference to true religion, w r e all know\ There is, even 
among some, a certain antipathy to religion itself, as well as 
the profession of it. Into the causes of this w^e will not now 
inquire, and yet it is certain that no man can afford to be 













TIIE CHURCH. 


197 

without religion; for as the eye is made for the sun, so the 
soul of man is made for God, and it cannot rest until it rests 
in God. The universal experience is that u as the hart 
panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee 
O God. My soul thirsteth for God, the living God.” 

Before we speak of a profession of religion, we must obtain ' 
a clear conception of what religion really is, as there is 
reason to believe that there are many erroneous views on the 
subject. Religion is not a formal profession of a certain 
creed, a nominal connection with a certain church, nor a par¬ 
ticipation in its ordinances and its worship. Nor is it merely 
a certain kind of feeling or experience. It is not a groan nor 
a prayer even. All this may belong to it, but it is not relig¬ 
ion. True religion is more than all this. It is the life of man 
in all its tendencies and activities in covenant with God. If 
the whole inner and outer life is determined and controlled 
by the divine influence, we have religion. In true religion 
the soul must be in harmony with God, and the life must 
conform to his law. Christianity is the only true religion, 
because it alone brings the soul in blessed harmony with God, 
and holding up before us the highest ideal of life, gives us by 
grace, the power to attain it. Our souls can only obtain 
peace and harmony with God under the cross of Christ, where 
God reconciles us unto himself by the death of his Son. We 
cannot rise above our sin-cursed humanity and reach the full 
stature of manhood, except by the power of Christ’s resurrec¬ 
tion. Christianity means the upbuilding of a Christ-like 
character on the foundation, which is laid on the Rock of 
Ages. The prophet Isaiah speaking for God says, u Behold I 
lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect precious, and he that 
believeth on him shall not be confounded.” The apostle 
Peter takes up the figure and applying it to Christ, says, u To 
whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of 
men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also as lively stones 
are built up a spiritual house.” Are you, dear reader, build¬ 
ing such a character, a spiritual house meet for God’s inspec¬ 
tion, yea more, a house in which God himself may dwell ? 

Having seen what is the object and nature of true religion, 
we are now prepared to consider what is necessary to a pro¬ 
fession of it. The basis of a Christian life is a loving faith, 


198 


THE CHURCH. 


by which the believer becomes a member of Christ, and a 
partaker of all his benefits. When the Holy Spirit leads the 
soul by faith to embrace Christ, then all grace and mercy, 
strength and power for a new life are communicated to it. 
Faith in Christ is the golden key, that unlocks the treasure- 
house of God. It is the victory, that overcometh the world 
with its sins and temptations, and death with its terrors and 
fears. This faith is not founded on any human authority, but 
rests upon the testimony of God concerning his Son. This 
testimony is contained in the Bible, especially in the Scrip¬ 
tures of the New Testament, We must search these Scriptures, 
until we find in them eternal life through Jesus Christ, We 
must accept and rest upon those testimonies of God, and look 
up to Christ as our great teacher, who reveals to us fully the 
will of God ; our only High Priest, who, by his sacrifice on 
the Cross, has fully satisfied for all our sins; and our eternal 
King, who rules by his Spirit in our hearts, and forever pro¬ 
tects and preserves us in the salvation of our souls. Recog¬ 
nizing thus in him our u Lord, our life, our sacrifice, and our 
all,” we come to him and say, a Lord, unto whom shall we go ; 
thou hast the words of eternal life, and we know and believe 
that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In this way 
faith becomes the response of the heart to the testimony of 
God, and “ Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth 
speaketh.” True faith and confession will always go together. 
Ihey are one and inseperable. Credo ergo condteor , (I be¬ 
lieve, therefore I confess,) is an an ancient maxim by which 
the heroes and martyrs, the confessors and saints of Christ in 
all ages, amidst fagots and flames, in dungeons and under 
the torture of cruel instruments, have manifested their faith¬ 
fulness and love to the Master, and their adherence to the 
truth as it is in Jesus. It may not be our lot to seal our faith 
with our blood as the martyrs did, but, nevertheless, it is our 
duty to profess it publicly to a gainsaying world, and to adorn 
it by a consistent and consecrated life. As God in the Holy 
Bible witnesses to Christ, so the believing Christian must also 
bear witness of Christ to the world. Jesus therefore says 
unto all his disciples, u Ye are my witnesses ; every one, who 
shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before 
my Father who is in heaven ; but, whosoever shall deny me 


THE CHURCH. 199 

before men, him will I deny before my Father who is. in 
heaven.” 

Such a public profession and open declaration of the faith, 
hope and love within us is necessary, not only for the sake 
of its influence upon ourselves, but also for the sake of our 
influence as Christians upon others. There is in our days a 
great deal of talk about secret discipleship and the worthless¬ 
ness of creeds and confessions. A good many people fancy 
that they are just as well off outside the communion and fel¬ 
lowship of the Christian Church as in it. In almost every 
community there are persons, who privately profess faith in 
Christ, but who persistently refuse to make a public profes¬ 
sion of their faith. But can they reasonably hope that Christ 
will profess and own them before the assembled universe, 
when they will not profess him before a few men ? If such 
is your condition, dear reader, then let me tell you that, what¬ 
ever your excuse may be, in the light of God’s word and the ex¬ 
perience and testimony of the faithful in all ages, your faith is 
not genuine, and your hope is a delusion. You cannot have a 
saving faith which does not work, and a love that is forever 
silent; for u Faith worketh by love.” You owe it to Jesus to 
be openly on his side. If you are not positively for Christ, 
you are numbered with those against him. If you truly be¬ 
lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ, and love him, let your heart 
follow your head, and your mouth follow your heart, for, “ with 
the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the 
mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Are you professing 
the religion of Jesus Christ ? If so, remember that your faith 
must be productive of good works. “ For by your fruits you 
shall be known.” Let gratitude and love to Jesus inspire you 
to every good work, then your life will be fruitful in righte¬ 
ousness, and your soul will be filled with the joy of God’s 
salvation. 



ATTRACTIVE CHRISTIANS. 



REV. A. HAWKER, DAYTON, 0. 


HERE WERE two massive pillars in the porch of 
Solomon’s Temple which had the names of 
Jachin and Boaz. One name signifies, he will 
establish , and the other, in strength. The two 
together are admirable emblems of solid goodness 
of character. Not hollow, not easily thrown off 
their base, and of undecaying material, they typify 
the firmness and the strength of the man who is 
unmovably fixed, trusting on the Lord. But, while these two 
pillars were made strong, they were also ornamental; for, they 
were wreathed with delicate chains of carved promegranates, 
and “ upon the capitals of the pillars was lily work.” Thus 
are strength and beauty to be combined in every well- 
developed Christian character. 

“ Beauty is that combination, or harmony, in color or in 
form, that gives pleasure to the eye of the beholder. One of 
the most profound prayers in the Bible is that ‘the beauty 
of the Lord our God may be upon us.’ One of the richest 
promises is that ‘the meek will he beautify with salvation,’ 
and the loftiest ideal set before us is ‘ the beauty of holiness.’ 
When our eyes gaze upon our enthroned Savior in his celestial 
splendor, then shall “ they see the King in his beauty.” It 
was the ineffable perfection of Jesus of Nazareth which con¬ 
stitutes not only the glory of the New Testament, but furnish¬ 
es the most unanswerable argument for the essential divinity 
that was clothed in human form.” 

The above remarks by Dr. Cuyler open a theme for practical 
reflection, which we fear is not thought of as it should be, 
which is that we should not only be Christians, but we should 
also endeavor to possess, and combine all the elements that 
enter into the Christian character in such exact proportions as 
to make our religion appear lovely and attractive. Ornament 
and beauty are never to be despised when they are associated 












THE CHURCH. 


201 

with what is real and substantial. God has made everything 
beautiful. Flowers adorn the valleys, rocks and trees the 
mountains, whilst the stars light up and beautify the heavens. 
The world is made more pleasant as our dwelling-place by the 
many beautiful objects around us. How much more attractive 
and lovely our homes and dwellings are when everything 
within and around them is neatly and tastefully arranged. So 
in like manner it is possible for us so to adorn, polish and 
beautify our Christian character, and such things as will give 
it a grace and a charm like the lily-work on the capitals of 
the pillars of Solomon’s Temple. These pillars were no doubt 
beautiful before the lily-work was put upon them, but with it 
they were more attractive. 

A man may be a Christian, rough and ill-shaped, like the 
marble taken from the quarry before it is polished and dressed. 
There are many such in every Christian community. They, 
perhaps, occupy important places in the congregations with 
which they stand connected, are regular in their attendance 
upon the means of grace, and contribute liberally to the sup¬ 
port of religion. No one doubts the sincerity and genuineness 
of their piety. And yet there is no polish, or lily-work about 
them. Their piety is cold and repulsive—they are austere and 
faultfinding. The minister preaches too long, and is too per¬ 
sonal, the prayer-meetings are too lifeless and formal, the 
Sunday-school is not managed right. There is, in fact, nothing 
that seems right in their sight, so that, instead of being 
attractive and winning in their ways, they are shunned and 
have but little influence for Christ. There is nothing winning 
nor lovely about them. Who, that has been brought in contact 
with the membership of the church, doubts that there are 
many good Christian people, who might be much more useful 
and respected if they only had more carved work about them, 
and were more attractive in their spirit and general demeanor. 

Do you ask, What are the things that adorn and beautify the 
Christian character and make it lovely ? We answer, they are 
what we ordinarily term graces , such as love, joy, faith, meek¬ 
ness, gentleness, brotherly kindness, &c., each of which adds 
a lustre and charm to it, so that he, who possesses them in the 
highest degree, is the lovliest and most attractive of all. There 
is no one, who may not excel in these graces, if he will only 


14 


202 


THE CHURCH. 


give himself assiclioiisly and perseveringly to their acquisition 
and cultivation. They are ornaments that do not come of 
themselves, but are to be carved and wrought in the character 
with as much study and practice as the sculptor employs with 
his chisel upon the marble, or the painter with his brush upon 
the canvas. The meekness of Moses, the faith of Abraham, 
the patience of Job, the lovely and confiding spirit of John, 
the zeal of Paul, and charming virtues of many whom we 
have all known, all testify that the Christian character is 
susceptible of the highest polish and beauty. 

The conclusion, then, to which we come is that we should 
not only be Christians, but that our religion should be lovely 
and attractive; that we should not only be stones in the tem¬ 
ple of God, but polished after the similitude of a palace; and, 
having been planted in the church, we should grow up as the 
stately cedar, the pride and glory of the forest, that men may 
take knowledge of us that we have been with Christ and 
learned of him. He that has ears to hear let him hear, and 
improve upon the hints and suggestions that are here given. 


TWO CHRISTIANS. 


f I "AWO Christians traveled down the road 

Who viewed the world with different eyes; 
The one was pleased with earth’s abode, 

The other longing for the skies. 

For one, the heavens were so blue. 

They fill’d his mind with fancies fond; 

The other’s eyes kept piercing through 
Only for that which lies beyond. 

For one, Enchanting were the trees, 

The distance was divinely dim, 

The birds that fluttered on the breeze 
Nodded their pretty heads for him. 

The other scarcely saw the flowers, 

And never knew the trees were grand ; 

He did but count the days and hours, 

Till he might reach the promised land. 





THE CHURCH. 


203 


And one a little kind caress 

Would to a tender rapture move ; 

He only opened his lips to bless 
The God who gave him things to love. 

The other journeyed on his way, 

Afraid to handle or to touch ; 

He only opened his lips to pray 
He might not loye a thing too much. 

Which was the best? Decide who can. 
Yet why should we decide ’twixt them? 

We may approve the mournful man, 

Nor yet the joyful man condemn. 

He is a Christian who has found 
That earth, as well as heaven, is sweet; 

Nor less is he who, heavon-bound, 

Has spurn’d the earth beneath his feet. 


WHAT IT IS TO BE A CHRISTIAN. 


REV. J. HUSTON BOMBERGER, A. M., COLUMBIANA, 0. 


’Tis not the wide phylactery, 

Nor stubborn fast, nor stated prayer, 

That makes us saints. We judge the tree 
By what it bears. 

And when a man can live apart 
From works on theologic trust, 

I know the blood about his heart 
Is dry as dust. 

T IS neither simply to seem , nor to be called , but 
to be a Christian. It is to start out with the clean- 
cut, undoubted fact of a “ new heart.” No “ if’s,” 
and “may be’s,” and “hope so’s” are wanted. 
No petted and coddled doubts. No condemnation- 
worthy playing with uncertainties. 
j The real Christian must have an experience that 

can be arithmeticised. There must be exact spiritual masonry. 
The stones of repentance, forgiveness, a trusting heart, and 
a working life must be four-square; set plumb; compactly 












204 


THE CHURCH. 


joined. Not that he must needs have underscored the precise 
“ moment of conversion ” on the clock. As well attempt to 
fix the exact moment of summer’s coming. Conversion is u a 
turning around: ” a “ turning ” before you get “ around.” 

Using the logic of figures, a speculator might say, u I own a 
$10,000 farm; have two $3,000 dwelling houses; and have 
$4,000 invested in U. S. Bonds. My liabilities are nothing,, 
so that I am worth $20,000, and my income is $1,000.” And 
if he is a Christian, he should, with just as much precision, be 
able to say: “ I have grieved for, and repented of my sins. I 
have asked, in Jesus name, for pardon. I have prayed for the 
Holy Spirit, and, as I believe God always answers honest 
prayer, I know that I am a saved man.” 

The facts in the one case are just as real and as capable of 
demonstration, as they are in the other. He, who would com¬ 
mence the life of faith, should rest satisfied with nothing short 
of this. Thorough work at the outstart, here, as in other 
things, will save a deal of trouble afterward. The rough 
lines, in which Lowell sums up his conclusion in the u Biglows, 
forcibly put the case. 

“Folks thet worked thoro’ was the ones thet thrive, 

But bad work toilers ye ez long’s ye live; 

Ye can’t git red on’t,—jest ez sure ez sin, 

It’s allers askin’ to be done agin.” 

By the help of the Holy Spirit conquer evil root and branch, 
once for all. Compel Satan to acknowledge his total defeat 
“in writing.” And, when he comes back again, flaunt the 
paper in his face, u and he will flee from you.” 

And then, out from that “new heart,” once made sure of, 
there will flow the “new life.” That life will be a religion. 
All the powers of heart and life will be steeped in this holy 
influence. Every day will witness a closer conformity of the 
. character to the ideal. 

Religion and life cannot be separated without destroying: 
both. Too many seem to think otherwise. Their experience, 
however, but feebly justifies their belief. Standing on an 
eminence back of Pennsylvania’s great “ Smoky City,” and 
looking down upon the confluence of the two rivers, that give 
birth to the Ohio, even after their streams have entered the 


THE CHURCH. 


205 


same channel*, one can distinctly trace the murky waters of 
the one, flowing, but not running, with the other. It is in this 
way that>‘ religion ” flows into some lives. The character and 
the faith will not mix. You know that the man is “ religious ” 
because he goes to church and says his prayers. But you feel 
that, though the two, life and religion, may u walk together,” 
they do not seem u to be agreed.” 

“John,” said a London grocer, “have you sanded the 
sugar?” “Yes, sir.” “Larded the butter?” “Yes, sir.” 
“ Floured the ginger? ” “ Yes, sir.” “ Well, then, come into 
prayers.” This grocer may have been the creation of a lively 
fancy. There, are, however, too many such incongruities in the 
lives of so-called Christians. 

Keligion should be the life. The life should be a religion. 
Every man a preacher. Every place a pulpit. Every act a 
sermon. Our whole existence a worship. 

To be a Christian, then, is to be a man, who, having accept¬ 
ed the Savior’s offer of mercy, stands firmly grounded upon 
his promise, and is busily engaged in rearihg the glorious 
-structure of a holy life. 


THE EARNEST CHRISTIAN. 



REV. W. A. LONG, B. A., LIMA, 0. 


HERE IS a consoling influence in the term Chris¬ 
tian. It is one of the most precious, honored and 
revered names on earth. Kings and nobles wear 
it with pride. The greatest nations in the world, 
and the greatest rulers in these nations, glory in 
this appellation. 

The name Christian originated in the time of 
the apostles, but was not assumed by them. St. Luke, in 
writing the Acts of the Apostles, tells us that, at Antioch, 
the disciples were first called Christians. The name was 
evidently given because they were followers of Christ. But 
whether they were so called by their enemies, as a term of 











206 


THE CHURCH. 


reproach, as in the case of the name Puritan, Methodist, 
Quaker; or as a name of distinction; or whether the name is 
of human origin, or of divine intimation, are questions of 
dispute. That it was given as a name of reproach is not 
probable. Among the Gentiles, the gospel was now having 
great acceptance, and it was about this time that St. Paul 
established the first church among the Gentiles at Antioch. 
Nor did the Jews hold any prejudice against the coming 
Messiah. They were looking for him, and were waiting to 
welcome him at his coming. But that this man, who called 
himself Jesus, was that Messiah, they did not believe; and 
they cast reproach upon him by calling him a Nazarene, 
after the city out of which no good thing, no prophet should 
come. 

The apostles were known among themselves as brethren 
of one family, as disciples of one master, as believers of one 
faith, as those working together for the accomplishment of 
one great final end, the salvation of souls. Hence they were 
called brethren, disciples, believers, saints. All these terms* 
though clear to them, were foreign and meaningless to the 
outer world. The ungodly man knows little of the true 
meaning and import of such names as brethren in Christ* 
believers, saints. And the people of Antioch, desiring some 
falniliar name, gave expression to their natural wit and 
inclination to giving fictitious names, and thus gave to this- 
class the term Christian. 

This name, so appropriate and full of meaning, was by no 
means a cause of offense to the disciples. They accepted it, 
and rejoiced in the appellation. Though we find this name 
used in only two other places, in the New Testament writings, 
yet it has not been ignored or forgotten, and will never die. 
It has increased in honor with men, as the kingdom of Christ 
has grown in power. It suggests at once to the Christian the 
name of his great Redeemer, and the idea of our near rela¬ 
tion to him ; the source of our salvation, and the fountain of 
our joys. It is a name, that binds together the most honored 
beings on earth: it rises above all other titles and will last 
till time shall be no more. 

The impressive power of this great title also carries with it 
the idea of virtue and purity in the hearts of those, who wear 


THE CHURCH. 


207 

it. There is nothing in a name or title, unless those, who bear 
it, are true to its significance. Even in the name Christian 
there is no merit, no virtue, no power that can save; but the 
heart must be made pure and white before it can be possible 
to assume this name. It is an honor to be a Christian ; and 
on this account, doubtless, many desiring the name, take it 
only for their own temporal gratification, without any 
thought that they are worthy. Thus hypocrites may escape 
and pass in the presence of men; but the great and final day 
will come, when the church will be judged, and its members 
u sifted as wheat.” There is no room in the Christian church, 
except for the “upright and pure in heart.” Nor is the church, 
as many, by their actions, seem to think, a place for inactivi¬ 
ty and repose. Here the great object at stake is the soul. 
On this depends every useful faculty of man; all that is 
pure; all that is holy; all that is noble and good. For the 
preservation of this.great factor, man must be watchful, care¬ 
ful, prayerful; and in order that many others may be brought 
into a saving faith, the Christian must, above all others, be 
the most patient, enduring and energetic of beings, laboring 
continually for the salvation of souls. We do not mean to 
say that all should preach the gospel; nor that all should 
exhort or teach; but we do say that every one has some 
Christian mission to perform for the ingrafting of souls; and, 
further, that no one can be a true follower of Christ who does 
not do his duty to advance and support his religion. The 
Apostles were required to labor daily and continue in prayer, 
that they might keep the faith and win others to Christ; are 
we better than they? The early church fathers, too, met 
daily, for the purpose of praying to God that their faith might 
be strengthened and that the church might be firmly 
established; are we more perfect or worthy than they ? or is 
there less need of this now than then ? The cause is a great 
one, and he, who does not perform his part bravely, is not 
worthy of the kingdom. Extended is the field for Christian 
labor, and great the call for laborers. This call is not for 
church members; it does not mean simply good men and 
women; we have now a vast army of Christians, and many, 
too, whose virtue cannot be doubted or motives questioned; 
but this call means more than this; it is an urgent demand 


208 


THE CHURCH. 


for the most persevering, earnest workers. The time is past 
that a simple call or opportunity- given is sufficient for the 
ingathering of souls. Evil influences are great and the induce¬ 
ments flattering to the perverse will; and the church with a 
full armor and a powerful hand must meet them. This can 
be accomplished in no way except by united Christian efforts. 
Then let every one ask at once, u What wilt thou have me to 
do,” and at the divine command let him go forward with all 
his might. 

Christians have no reason to despair in their labors, but 
they have a need to work in greater earnest, and to show to 
to the world that they are in earnest. The religious pro¬ 
gress in the past has been such as to give much encourage¬ 
ment for the future. Religious persecutions are not yet 
entirely past, but they are now being restrained, and 
soon will be known no more. The disgraced Christian has 
become the honored man of God; the humble worshiper has 
been brought out from his secret cave, and placed in the 
holy sanctuary, where he may worship openly and proclaim 
the gospel to the world ; and by earnest Christian efforts, the 
good news of salvation may, ere long, be made known to all 
nations and conditions of men. 


WHY ALL SHOULD BECOME CHRISTIANS. 



REV. M. F. FRANK, A. M. FARMERSVILLE, 0. 


HRIST COMMISSIONED his disciples to preach 
his gospel to every creature, and prevail on all 
men to embrace his religion. 

At times the church has seemed to forget its 
mission and relax its energy; but awaking again 
from its lethargy the fire of devotion has burned 
more intensely than ever; and to-day, the advo¬ 
cates of Christianity are pressing its claims in 
every land and upon all conditions of mankind. Every per¬ 
son is obliged to answer for himself the question of Pilate: 
u What shall I do with Christ?” He must either accept or 











THE CHURCH. 


209 

reject him—crown or crucify him. Every person has a right 
to ask: “ Why shall I become a Christian ? ” and he has 
an equal right to expect an answer. St. Paul says Chris¬ 
tian service is a reasonable service, and that every disciple of 
Christ should be ready to give an answer to him that asketh a 
reason of the hope that is in him. 

Many reasons may be given why all persons should become 
Christians, but we must be content in the short space allotted 
to us to state briefly the more important. 

1. Christianity developes the highest type of character. It 
denounces all manner of vice, and commends every virtue. It 
inspires us to hate all evil, and love all that is good. It sets be¬ 
fore us a perfect pattern, a heroic, unwavering, unselfish, for¬ 
giving, self-sacrificing, meek and loving spirit—a character 
without spot or blemish, and of snow-white purity, exhibiting 
the glory of true and exalted manhood, in the Lord Jesus 
•Christ. He is the Christian’s lofty ideal, the object of his love 
and worship. Experience teaches us that the worshipper is 
naturally inclined to become like the moral character of the 
Being worshipped. If we worship the god of wine, we become 
drunkards; if the god of war, we become bloodthirsty; if the 
god of lust, we become licentious ; and if we worship Christ, 
who is the personification of love and purity, we become like 
him. But Christ adds also the supernatural influence of his 
Spirit to mould his followers into his own image. And so the 
Scriptures teach us : “We all, with open face, beholding as in 
a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image 
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

2. It promotes the highest interests of man in the present 
life. There is no relation of life over which Christianity does 
not throw its healthful and hallowed influence. It sets before 
man a worthy object for which to live. It teaches him to use 
the world without abusing it. It enables him to reap the 
greatest blessings for himself without tramping on the inter¬ 
ests of his fellow man. It defines the rights of all and leads 
us to give each his due. It is the advocate and guardian 
of liberty, justice, peace, and all that can contribute to the 
happiness and prosperity of any people. It sanctifies the 
home and makes it a type of heaven. It blesses civil society 
and relieves it of a thousand disaffection's. It promotes civil 


210 


THE CHURCH. 


government and makes it the minister of justice, and the foe= 
of oppression. It gives to all who are influenced by it, the 
kindred spirit of a common brotherhood, and makes love the 
ruling motive of life. “ Civilization, law, order, morality, the 
family, all that elevates woman or blesses society, or gives 
peace to the nations, all these are the fruits of Christianity, 
the full power of which, even for this world, could never be 
appreciated until it should be taken away.” 

3. Because it gives the only security for the future and the 
only assurance of a blessed immortality. No other person can 
face death with the peace and security which a Christian en¬ 
joys. Lord Byron, though a man of the world perceived this, 
and wrote as follows: u Indisputably, believers in the gospel 
have a great advantage over all others, for this simple reason 
that, if true, they will have their reward hereafter—and if 
there be no hereafter, they can but be with the infidel in his 
eternal sleep, having had the assistance of an exalted hope 
through life without subsequent disappointment. The Chris¬ 
tian is secure whether his religion be true or not; but no one 
else can say as much. All who reject the salvation of Christ 
are running a great risk, for if the gospel be true, and who can 
prove it is not, their future existence must be unspeakably 
sad. But the Christian is assured that to die is gain. To be 
absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. To have 
the footstool is to ascend to the throne. And heaven, with its 
ineffable bliss, its rapturous joy, its ravishing beauty, and 
transcendent glory; the light of eternal day flashing on the 
crystal sea, and shining on the mansions of burnished gold ; 
the gladsome throng tuning their harps to the sweetest strains 
of music and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb; this 
is the inheritance of the saints. But how imperfect all at¬ 
tempts to describe it, for eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither hath it entered into the mind of man to conceive what 
the Lord hath in store for those who love him.” 


EXCUSES FOR NOT BEING A CHRISTIAN. 



REV. J. RICHARDS. LINDSAY, 0. 


HE CHRISTIAN religion although it offers pardon 
and eternal life to all without money or price is r 
nevertheless, rejected by many. This is a most 
singular fact, and evinces great folly and inconsid¬ 
erateness. Men do not act thus in the affairs of 
the world. No one thinks of rejecting any earthlj” 
good when sincerely offered him. The hungry and 
thirsty gladly accept meat and drink from the 
hands of any benefactor. Not so, however, in 
regard to spiritual and heavenly gifts, in reference to which 
many act still, as sinners have always done. When Christ wa& 
on earth he forcibly illustrated the conduct of many towards 
the gospel, by the parable of the great supper to which the 
master of the feast gave a free and cordial invitation. The 
guests, however, on being notified that all things were ready,, 
and that they should come and enjoy the festivities of the 
occasion, began with one consent to make excuse. One had 
bought a piece of ground, and had to go and see it; another 
had bought five yoke of oxen, which he had to go and prove 
whilst another had married a wife and could not come. 
These excuses, when'properly considered, were most frivolous 
and calculated to provoke the displeasure of him, who had 
made the feast. And, although over eighteen hundred years 
have passed away since this parable was spoken by our Divine 
Lord, yet the conduct of sinners to-day is substantially the 
same toward the gospel and religion. One has this excuse, 
and another something else, w T hich thej r offer as a reason for 
not becoming Christians, which, although they may differ in 
form, still proceed from the same corrupt state of heart. 

To enumerate the many excuses, which men now make for 
not being Christians, would be a tedious task, as they are 












THE CHURCH. 


212 

very numerous. As they all, however, proceed from a per¬ 
verse frame of mind, it is only necessary to mention a few of 
the more common, from which we may judge of their general 
character. 

I. Not a few, when asked why they have not identified 
themselves with some Christian church, tell us that they can 
hardly give any answer, as they have not thought much about 
it. They go to church occasionally with their friends, or when 
some strange minister happens to come along. They like to 
hear an eloquent sermon, and believe that Christianity is a 
good thing, and should be maintained. But somehow, or 
other they have never considered it their duty to be Chris¬ 
tians, and have thought very little upon the general subject of 
religion. How any one can be thus indifferent about a matter 
of such vast importance as the salvation of the soul, is hard to 
understand. To say the least, it betrays a great inconsistency 
to be concerned about matters of minor importance, as many 
of these persons are, to the neglect of their souls. No man 
can treat the subject of religion, which affects his well-being 
for time and eternity, with indifference, without being guilty 
of great folly and inconsistency. To be or not to be a Chris¬ 
tian, is a question that ought to be settled by each one at a 
very early period in life. 

II. Others tell us that their business is too harassing and 
burdensome, to think of uniting with the church and living a 
Christian life. They must first get their worldly matters in a 
different shape, and have their families better provided for, 
before they can think about religion. But, what right has 
any one to allow himself to become so immersed in the world, 
as to have no time to attend to his spiritual interests, when 
his first, and great duty is to “ seek the kingdom of God and 
his righteousness.” 

III. Others, again, excuse themselves for not being Chris¬ 
tians, because they do not feel like it. They do not want to 
act as many others do, go into the church merely for the 
name of the thing. They believe there must be some heart- 
work about it, and just as soon as they have experienced a 
change of heart, they will then unite themselves with the 
church. But how can they ever expect to experience this 
change whilst they are doing nothing to bring it about. It is 


THE CHURCH. 


213 

with religion as with other matters, that, in order to be inter¬ 
ested in it, there are certain things which we must do, amongst 
which may be mentioned the reading and study of the Bible,, 
attendance on the preached word, serious and prayerful medi¬ 
tation upon our state and condition, and the necessity of a 
change of heart, our duty to God and one another. Think of 
these as you ought to think, and your sluggish soul will be 
moved. Moses complained of the people of his day, and said, 
u O that they were wise, that they would consider their latter 
end.” 

IV. Others are waiting for a more convenient season. 
They think well of Christianity, and do not intend always 
living out of the church. But, just now there are so many 
things in the way, that it seems better to defer it for the pres¬ 
ent, and wait for a more favorable season, as there is danger 
if they start with so many things in the way, that they may 
not make a success of it. This is, perhaps, one of the most 
common excuses why many are not Christians to-day. They 
are waiting, hoping and expecting something more favorable 
to take place before they will act. So thousands live, and so 
they die. 

V. Others, again, excuse themselves for not being Chris¬ 
tians, because they are afraid that cannot continue religious. 
They feel it is a sad case to profess Christianity and then fall 
back into the folly and sins of the world again. That back¬ 
sliders do much harm to Christianity, all are ready to admit. 
But it must be remembered that the vast majority of the 
so-called backsliders were not truly Christians, and hence 
they fell off for the want of religion. A true Christian may 
at times become cold and inactive in duty, but the spark of 
genuine grace is still in the heart, and will be sooner or later 
revived again, and he will become active, and go on his way 
rejoicing. The Gospel of Christ does not require us to 
embrace religion in order that we may keep it , but that 
religion may keep us from all evil to the end of life. Religion 
is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 

As many and varied as the excuses of sinners are in justify¬ 
ing themselves in deferring their return to God, not one of 
them will avail them anything in the great day of the 
Almighty, as they have no foundation in the Word of God. 


PERSONAL CONSECRATION. 



REV. S. REAM. A. M., TREMONT, OHIO. 


ETTING APART anything from a common to a 
holy use is consecration, and it is variously applied. 
Persons and things may be so consecrated. Thus 
the Bible speaks of the Sabbath-day, the temple, 
altars, vessels, etc., as being consecrated to the 
Lord. As applied to persons, it means a free and 
determinate dedication of one’s self to the service 
and worship of God. 

Of the duty and reasonableness of such personal consecra¬ 
tion to the Lord, the apostle Paul says, “ I beseech you, there¬ 
fore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your 
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is 
your reasonable service.” God does not impose upon man 
anything that is unreasonable, or unjust. God made man for 
himself, “ to glorify and praise him,” a service, that is alto¬ 
gether agreeable to the principles of right reason. Man, how¬ 
ever, away from Christ, would rather live entirely for self and 
for selfish gratifications; yet God by no means relinquishes 
his claims upon him. It is still made his duty to serve, love, 
and worship God. Ceasing to walk in the way of his own 
heart, he is to make the will of God the rule of his life. “ Not 
as I will, but as thou wilt,” must be the language of his soul, 
so that u whether he lives, he lives unto the Lord ; or whether 
he dies, he dies unto the Lord.” He must be enabled to say, 
u that with body and soul, both in life and death, he is not his 
own, but belongs to his faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, who, 
with his precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all his sins, and 
delivered him from all the power of the devil.” 

As the worshipers in the temple brought their offerings 
and presented them to the Lord, and as this action on their 
part was free and voluntary; so the act of devoting ourselves 
to God is also free and voluntary. True, unaided by the Holy 
Spirit, we cannot approach a throne of grace, nor worship God 









THE CHURCH. 


215 


with acceptance. It is God that worketh in us both to will 
and to do of his good pleasure. Yet this divine influence does 
not irresistibly force us to act against our own will; but it 
certainly furnishes us with a very strong motive of action, and 
enables us to do all that is required to be done. Thus aided 
and influenced by the Spirit, we are to act for ourselves; so 
that when life and death are placed before us, we are left to 
choose between them, and upon this choice depends our eter¬ 
nal happiness or endless misery. 

In the act of consecration we are to present to God our per¬ 
sons, our hearts, and all that we possess. Nothing should be 
kept back, but everything of value given to the Lord, Time, 
property, influence, in short, all that a man hath, should be 
devoted to God’s service. A partial sacrifice God does not 
want. A complete surrender is demanded or none at all. Our 
bodies, with all their powers and susceptibilities, are to be at 
God’s disposal. And these, too, are to be developed and 
trained for his service. God has a claim upon our souls. The 
will, reason, imagination, affections, should all be dedicated 
to the Lord. Nothing sinful will God accept. Impure 
thoughts, unholy feelings, unchaste desires, are, of course, in¬ 
compatible to entire consecration. The different employments 
and vocations in life are not to be followed irrespective of 
God’s will and pleasure. The selection of our residence, busi¬ 
ness, and amusements, will all be in reference to the question, 
where and how can we best serve the Lord. Where God di¬ 
rects, there will we go. What he appoints, that will we do. 
David exclaimed, “ Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my 
mouth if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.” At the 
foot of the cross will we lay gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 
On the head of Jesus will we lay every crown. The foremost 
question will be, u Lord what wilt thou have me do ? ” In 
short, whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we are 
required to do all to the glory of God. 

We are to consecrate ourselves to God as living sacrifices. 
Under the Jewish economy it was not permitted to bring a 
dead victim to be offered at the altar. In our natural state, 
however, we are u dead in trespasses and sins,” and until we 
are renewed in Christ, we can do nothing pleasing to God. 
u The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither 


216 


THE CHURCH. 


indeed can be.” We ought not to presume, then, that God 
will accept a service that does not come from a renewed heart. 
The sacrifices of the wicked are an abomination unto God. 
That we may serve him in newness of life 4 we must be born 
again, not of the flesh, but of the Spirit, putting off the old 
man, and putting on the new, which after God is created in 
righteousness and true holiness. Then will our sacrifices be¬ 
come a sweet smelling odor, and God will bestow upon us his 
blessing. Having our nature thus changed, we will be alive 
to every good work in Christ Jesus. We will be characterized 
by a holy activity in the service of God. A willingness will 
be shown on our part to labor in the vineyard of the Lord, do¬ 
ing cheerfully the work assigned us; to fight manfully, as 
Christian soldiers, the battle of life; and to run well the race 
set before us, pressing towards the mark, that in the end we- 
may win the prize. God’s service will be a pleasure and a de¬ 
light. Our knees will not become enfeebled, our hands will 
never hang down; nor will our arms be folded in slothful in¬ 
activity. Whatsoever our hands find to do that will we do 
with our might. This is the living, active, sacrifice which we 
are to offer to God, and which only will be accepted. 

Our offerings are to be holy. The Jews were expressly for¬ 
bidden to offer that which was lame, or blind, or in any way 
deformed. This typified primarily, the completeness and 
purity of him who was without spot or blemish. But it also 
teaches us that in consecrating ourselves to God our motives 
must be pure, and our principles of action in accordance with 
his will. We are to offer to him our best faculties, the vigor 
of our minds, and the heart’s best service. Our youth, our 
health, our strength, are to be given him. God wants not a 
divided but a complete sacrifice. There are those, however, 
who expect to dedicate themselves to God in old age, or in 
time of sickness ; and thus in their weakened and enfeebled 
condition they purpose offering to him the a blind and the 
lame.” God asks a complete sacrifice, pure, holy, unblemished, 
and free from the polution of sin. 

To every one, then, the matter of personal consecration is 
of supreme importance. W e should know assuredly whether 
or no such consecration has taken place, and whether we have 
placed upon God’s altar all we have and are. We cannot 


THE CHURCH. 


217 

afford to mistake here. Upon it depends the weal or woe of our 
future life. Neither should we allow ourselves to be deceived 
in any way ; nor try to deceive God by offering him a cold 
and heartless service as an oblation which he will not accept. 
AVe must give him the best we have. God asks only his own. 
Christ having purchased us with his blood, we are his property. 
His claims upon us are, therefore, just. The best we can do 
is to yield to the Lord that which is already his—consecrating 
to him for all time to come, our persons, our lives, our best 
energies, our time, our talents, our all. 

“ Our souls and bodies we resign; 

With joy, we render thee— 

Our all, no longer ours, but thine, 

To all eternity.’’ 


CONSECRATION TO THE CHURCH. 



REV. E. R. WILLIARD, A. M., GERMANTOWN, 0. 


EVOTION IS another word, which is often used to 
express the idea of consecration. Hence, we speak 
of devoted or consecrated Christian men or women. 
A practical and simple definition, which we may 
give, is, that consecration to the church is the 
devoting of ourselves, all we have, and all we are, 
to the service and honor of the Church of 
Christ. Or, we can, perhaps, get a still better idea 
of consecration by taking a few familiar examples. 

Take, for instance, the business man, who is consecrated to 
his business. Early in the morning, and late at night, if need 
be, you will find him at his place of business. He sacrifices 
the pleasure of being at home with his family, because his 
business demands his presence at the store; yon never hear 
him complain of too much work, and too much patronage; he 
expects to work hard, and he delights to be kept busy. Go 
into his store and talk to him about his particular line of 


15 












THE CHURCH. 


218 

business, and see how his eye will kindle with enthusiasm, and 
his very soul warm with interest! Concerts, shows, operas, 
and public entertainments, and even politics, have little 
attraction for him, because he wants to give his time to his 
business. These are the business men of the land, who make 
money, and, oftentimes do but little else. The secret of it all 
is their consecration to business. 

Or, take the farmer, whose life and heart are consecrated to 
farming. Do you ever hear such a man complain, because he 
has to get up early in the morning, so as to get out into his 
wheat or corn-fields the sooner to gather an abundant harvest 
of the grain? That is just what he wants to do. Does he 
complain because his harvests are so heavy and abundant, 
that it will make so much hard work to reap them ? That is 
just what fills his soul with joy, and covers his face with 
smiles, and gives him riches and wealth. See his habits of 
life! He is temperate and economical, he spends his evenings 
at home, is early to bed and early to rise, he is careful about 
Ins health, and all for the simple reason, that he wants to have 
more time and strength for his work, and to succeed better in 
farming. The thoughts and ambitions of such men seem to be 
wrapped up in their farms and their work, and they prosper 
abundantly, because they are consecrated farmers. 

The consecrated Christian is the man, that makes a business , 
a life out of religion. He is the member, whose heart and 
soul are in the work and prosperity of the church. He is 
never heard complaining about how much he has to do and 
give for the church. The more he can give for the success of 
the cause of Christ, and the more he can do for the church, 
the more he rejoices, just like the consecrated business man or 
farmer, who rejoices at the more business he has to claim his 
time and energies, or the more abundant harvests, that 
demand so much the more hard work to gather them. Such 
a Christian never feels that his duty is done, when he simply 
attends service once or twice a Sabbath, and contributes so 
much a year towards the support of the church, and the spread 
of the gospel, and makes the minister or deacon always come 
after it, if they ever get it. This he regards as the plain duty 
of every man, whether he is a Christian or not, for, religion 
makes the world so much the better, and happier, and safer, 


THE CHURCH. 


219 

and thus he is repaid for all it costs him. Sunday is also the 
day, that God has set apart for his worship and praise, and 
church-going makes the Sabbath a so much more pleasant 
and profitable day, and a man cannot work regularly and 
publicly on the Sabbath, without bringing the reproach of 
the world, as well as of God upon him. Consecration to the 
church means more than this. It means that a man shall be 
earnestly and heartily devoted to the cause of Christ and to 
Christian work. Such a man you will hear inviting people to 
come to church, and to join the church, as he mingles with 
the world in the business and social relations of the week; 
such a man you will see in the Sunday-school, at the prayer¬ 
meeting, and at the special religious services of the church, 
unless age, or sickness, or distance, or necessity forbids, simply 
because he is a consecrated Christian, and because his heart 
is sincerely and truly in the service of Christ, Such a man 
never thinks of the kind of work that is to be done, whether 
it be to help clean the house of God, or to fill a station where 
he would most honorably represent the church. All sorts and 
kinds of church-work and Christian service are work and duty 
for the glory of Christ, and, with the consecrated Christian 
the only question is, “ Can I do the work,” and he never 
thinks of, “ Will I do the work ?” As little would the farmer 
think of making his hands hard, and his face sun-burnt from 
his toil, and as little would the business man think of the dirt 
and dust, which he must encounter in his business, as does 
the consecrated Christian think of the kind of work, that he 
is to do for the church and for Christ, Only so it helps the 
church and honors Christ, he is glad to do it. What a power 
for good, only a few such men and women are in any church! 
It is the disposition, which we have, that determines how 
much people do, and will do for the church, more than any¬ 
thing else. 

In the Fall of 1882, Senator B. H. Hill, of Georgia, the most 
brilliant United States Senator from the South since the war, 
lay dying of that awful disease, which we call by that com¬ 
mon and dreaded name, Cancer. From that Southern home 
of suffering and pain, there have gone out testimonies to the 
worth and power of the Christian religion, that will live long 
after everything else about his life shall have been forgotten. 


THE CHURCH. 


220 

He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Although his 
disease prevented him from talking, yet he could converse by 
means of a writing-pad. One day Senator Hill and his pastor, 
Rev. Dr. Evans, were talking about the need of thoroughness 
in faith and life, thoroughness in what we believe and do 
religiously, in order to usefulness here, and peace eternally. 
Why should an unwilling, grudging, or even half-hearted ser¬ 
vice be given to God? Senator Hill suddenly beckoned for 
his writing-pad, and wrote these simple and grand words: 
u Nothing but Consecration will do.” 

Blessed, holy truth ! “ Nothing but Consecration will do !” 

Without consecration, a profession of religion degenerates 
into a mere formality! Without consecration, strife and jeal¬ 
ousies and personal envyings will surely arise to curse the 
church! Without consecration everything drags, and the 
pastor at last leaves, hopeless and sad! Without consecration, 
infidelity and worldliness soon steal the children, which the 
church might have had for her own, and fitted for heaven! 
Without consecration to the church, wealth, members, learn¬ 
ing, yea, all things in the membership of such a church are in 
vain. u Nothing but consecration will do ” here, and for the 
great hereafter! 


* THE PLEASURES OF RELIGION. 



REV. N. W. BLOOM, HILL GROVE, 0. 


HELIGION IS designed to make mankind happy, 
and has thus far not failed in its objects nor missed 
its aim; for, in whatever heart the grace of God 
reigns supremely, there we find a source of joy and 
pleasure such as nothing else can produce. It is 
also a joy whose origin is concealed from the 
world, for, otherwise, w r e would not find so many 
persons who entertain wrong ideas respecting it. 

It is probable that a majority, if not even all who have 
never experienced the grace of God in their hearts, look upon 
religion as something that has a tendency to make men 














THE CHURCH. 


221 


gloomy, if not unfit for the enjoj^ments of life. But, more 
especially is this erroneous idea rooted in the minds of so many 
of the young, who imagine that if they become Christians 
and unite with the church, they must renounce all the pleas¬ 
ures and enjoyments of life, and put on a grave appearance, 
which is not only a wrong notion, but even detrimental to the 
church, and especially so to those who are so unfortunate as 
to entertain such an idea. 

The Christian needs, and should not renounce innocent 
pleasures, for, in so doing he does that which religion does not 
design him to do, and consequently becomes* gloomy and de¬ 
spondent, and in so doing only opens avenues whereby the 
the tempter may enter and make him unhappy. Christ, the 
founder of the Christian religion, did not renounce true pleas¬ 
ure and enjoyment, for we find him at various places of enter¬ 
tainment, such as at the marriage feast at Cana and in the 
houses of his friends. 

We must not conceive that God is pleased with children 
that are downcast, gloomy or despondent, but on the con¬ 
trary, he is delighted with such as are happy and cheerful; 
for this purpose he has instituted the Christian religion, that 
it might make us happy. AVe believe it wrong for Christians 
to be despondent, as the grace of God, which dwells in their 
hearts, is to dispel all gloom and sadness. 

Solomon, who was distinguished for his great wisdom, has 
given us a beautiful commentary upon the pleasure of relig¬ 
ion when he says, “ Happy is the man that findeth wisdom 
and the man that getteth understanding. For, the merchan¬ 
dise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the 
gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than 
rubies, and all the things thou cans’t desire are not to be 
compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; 
and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways 
of pleasantness and her paths are peace. She is a tree of 
life to them that lay hold on her, and happy is every one that 
retaineth her.” 

AA^hat the wise man here says so beautifully, has been the 
experience of all true Christians, and never has anyone, who 
has experienced the love of God in his heart, regretted having 
made it his choice. 


THE CHURCH. 


222 

It is true some, in an evil hour, have fallen away from 
Christ, but they were soon made to feel that they had lost a 
precious boon—repented and again. earnestly longed for that 
sweet communion with their Savior, which they had lost. 
And there are still others whom we sometimes speak of as 
having fallen from grace, and who renounce the Christian re¬ 
ligion, yet it is certain that such had never experienced the 
power of divine grace in their hearts, or else they would not 
have renounced that, which is their only comfort in this life 
and their only hope in the life to come. There is, in fact, 
nothing that is so delightful and enjoying as Christianity. 

Lavater, in speaking of the enjoyments and pleasures of 
nature, art and the other comforts of life, says, u Believe me. 
I speak deliberately and with full conviction. I have enjoyed 
many of the comforts of life, none of which I wish to esteem 
lightly ; often have been charmed with the beauties of nature 
and refreshed with her beautiful gifts. I have spent many 
an hour in sweet meditation and in reading the most valuable 
productions of the wisest men. I have often been delighted 
with the conversation of ingenious, sensible and exalted 
characters; my eyes have been powerfully attracted by the 
finest productions of human art, and my ears by enchanting 
melodies. I have found pleasure, when calling into activity 
the powers of my own mind. * * * When sur¬ 

rounded by large companies; still more when moving in the 
small circle of my own family. Yet to speak the truth 
before God, who is my judge, I must confess, I know not any 
joy that is so dear to me, that so fully satisfies the inmost 
desires of my mind, that so enlivens, refines and elevates my 
whole nature as that which I derive from religion.” 

Such is the testimony of thousands who have made it their 
choice and the ruling principle of their life. And who can 
describe the pleasure there is in meeting in the sanctuary, to 
sing songs of praise to God, call upon and worship him in the 
beauty of holiness ? If there were no other pleasures con¬ 
nected with religion, this which is so elevating, surpasses all 
we can be conscious of. No wonder David exclaimed, “ How 
amiable are thy tabernacles, Oh Lord of hosts! My soul 
longeth, yea fainteth for the courts of the Lord.” 

There is, indeed, no real pleasure outside of religion. Sol- 


THE CHURCH. 


223 

omon had tried all the vain pleasures, which the world could 
offer or wealth purchase, and at the end he exclaimed, u Van¬ 
ity of vanities, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” 

Religion teaches us to be thankful in prosperity, patient in 
adversity, and to put our firm trust and confidence in God 
under all the vicissitudes of life; knowing that all things 
work together for gopd to those that love the Lord. It satis¬ 
fies the longing of the soul after God, and softens our dying 
pillow. It takes the sting of death away; robs the grave of 
its victory; opens a passage across the Jordan of death and 
swings the pearly gates of heaven wide open to us. 


CONGREGATIONAL SINGING IN ANCIENT TIMES. 


PROF. A. S. ZERBE, PH. D., TIFFIN, OHIO. 


LL THE services and ordinances of the Christian 
Church should be means of grace to the worship¬ 
per, channels .through which the needs of man are 
presented before the throne, and through which 
blessings are conveyed to the soul. Hence, the 
service of praise should occupy a prominent place. 
The passages in Scripture, urging its high value, 
are numerous. Certainly, the singing of hymns, when a 
whole congregation of men, women, and children with united 
voices send up a continued song of praise to the Lamb, pos¬ 
sesses elements of a highly devotional character. 

It is the privilege of congregations, no less than of individ¬ 
uals, to come into the Lord’s presence with thanksgiving and 
to make a joyful noise unto him with psalms, and u To show 
forth his loving-kindness and faithfulness upon an instru¬ 
ment of ten strings, upon the harp with a solemn sound.” Per¬ 
haps no other exercise so readily puts to flight the worldly 
spirit, or prepares the mind for the remaining duties of the 
sanctuary. It was through David’s playing upon the harp, 
that the evil spirit fled from Saul. Sacred minstrelsy quieted 
the perplexed spirit of Elisha, when it had been severely put 
to the test by the presence of the faithless King of Israel. 












224 


THE CHURCH. 


Even as early as the triumphant passage of the Red Sea, 
when, perhaps, the first sacred song on record was composed, 
the Israelites united in “ The Lord hath triumphed gloriously; 
the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea,’- which 
forms a part of one of the most eloquent odes in the Bible 

At the dedication of the Temple built by Solomon, Josephus 
says that “ two hundred thousand musicians were employed.” 
If one-fourth as many were present, the number was immense. 
Upon the laying of the corner-stone of the second temple, it is 
said (Ezra iii. 10-11) that u when the builders laid the founda¬ 
tion of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their ap¬ 
parel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with 
cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David, King 
of Israel, and they sang together by course in praising and 
giving thanks unto the Lord.” 

In the fullness of time there echoed through the skies from 
angel voices u Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, 
peace, good will toward men.” At the close of the Lord’s 
ministry, when the Lord’s Supper had been instituted, u When 
they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives.” 
As the chant of Hallel, which the Jews used at the close of the 
passover, was frequently the 118th Psalm, it is likely that 
the latter was sung by Christ and his disciples, especially 
since it was Messianic in character. 

In the whole history of the apostolic church, song occupies 
a prominent place. In a loathsome dungeon, at midnight 
Paul and Silas prayed and sung praises to God. Paul, too, 
throughout his epistles recognizes singing as an important 
part of worship, To the Ephesians he says: “ Be filled with 
the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and 
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to 
the Lord ; giving thanks always for all things unto God and 
the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” To the 
Colossians he says: u Let the word of Christ dwell in you 
richly in all wisdom ; teaching and admonishing one another 
in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace 
in yo nr hearts to the Lord.” While in banishment upon the 
Isle of Patinos, St. John, the divine, heard thus the songs of 
the redeemed ; “ And a voice came out of the throne, saying, 
Praise our God, all ye his servants and ye that fear him, both 


THE CHURCH. 


225 

small and great. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great 
multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice 
of many thunderings, saying, Alleluia! for the Lord God om¬ 
nipotent reigneth.” 

The history of the Church in nearly every period bears tes¬ 
timony to the edification of worshippers by the use of hymns 
and spiritual songs. It was a powerful means for the destruc¬ 
tion, as well as the spread of heresy. When the Arians dis- 
disseminated their teachings by the use of hymns, Chrysos¬ 
tom counteracted their influence by the circulation of ortho¬ 
dox hymns. Augustine checked a similar spread of the 
errors of the Donatists by composing a hymn in imitation of 
the one hundred and nineteenth Psalm. The Gloria in Ex- 
celsis was introduced in the third century, the Gloria Patri 
(as a check to the Arian heresy) in the fourth, and the Te 
Deum, in the sixth. During the middle ages, the power of 
song occasionally broke forth in such productions as Stabat 
Mater and Dies Irae , though these hymns, as well as those 
of the early Church, even in their excellent translations, are 
not likely to be generally introduced. 


CONGREGATIONAL SINGING IN MODERN TIMES. 


PROF. A. S. ZERBE, PH. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


HE INFLUENCE of hymns during the Reforma¬ 
tion period was well-nigh marvelous. Luther 
composed many hymns, corrected others, and 
translated many more. In his devotion to sacred 
song he says, u Next to theology, it is to music 
that I give the highest place and the greatest 
honor.” The rapid spread of the Reformation 
principles among the people was due in no small degree to 
the hymns composed by Luther. Says one of his biographers: 

“ About sixty hymns were written by him at a time when 
the history of fifteen centuries could not furnish him more 
than two hundred hymns, that had been used in Christian 










226 


THE CHURCH. 


congregations. In this great undertaking he had a twofold 
object, first, to restore to the people their ancient and long- 
lost New Testament right to the use of psalms in public wor¬ 
ship in their own tongue; and, secondly, by the grace of 
verse and the charms of melody, to lodge the word of God 
effectually in their memory. He took care to embody in his 
verse the great foundation truths of the Bible, that being 
sung over and over by the people, they might never be for¬ 
gotten. So successful was he in this endeavor, that priestly 
influence might in vain have attempted to check the progress 
of the Reformation by destroying the Bible. Its doctrines 
were the soul of his songs, and the songs were embalmed in 
the peoples’ memory.” 

Clement Marot, a French poet, with the assistance of Theo¬ 
dore Beza, provided for France a metrical version from the 
Hebrew Psalms. Like Luther, Calvin also attempted to 
destroy the practice of antiphonal chanting, and to restore 
the singing to the people, from whom it had been taken by 
the priests, centuries before. The hymns introduced among 
the Genevese, exhilarated their congregational worship, were 
heard on the streets, and were sung by artificers at their work. 
German, French, Bohemian, Dutch and Polish hymns multi¬ 
plied with intense rapidity, and spreading everywhere among 
the people, disseminated the new faith. Hymns were also 
composed in the popular dialects, and were powers of the 
press equal in influence, in many places, with the pulpit. 

At Heidelberg the people were aroused to the Reformation 
by the power of song. It is related that the Elector Fred¬ 
erick, fearing somewhat the power of the Emperor, did not 
at once order the discontinuance of saying mass. Therefore, 
on a certain occasion, just as the priest was about to begin 
his services at the high altar, some one began with the cele¬ 
brated hymn of Sporatus, u Es ist das Heil uns kommen her ” 
u To us salvation now is come,” (given in Dr. Schaff’s Gesang 
Bueh and instrumental in introducing the Reformation into 
other lands.) Thereupon the vast assembly united in the 
service, and, by the direction of the Elector, mass was no 
longer said in that church. 

The inspiring influence of sacred song was likewise felt 
during and after the Reformation period, in England no less 


THE CHURCH. 


227 

than in other lands. An old English writer speaks of its 
power in a strain, as eloquent as the orthography is old-fash¬ 
ioned : u The devil is not ignorant of the power of these 
divine charms, that there lurks in poesy an enchanting 
sweetness that steals into the hearts of men before they be 
aware; and that (the subject being divine) it can infuse a 
kind of heavenly enthusiasm, such delight into the soul, and 
beget so ardent an affection into the purity of God’s word, as 
it will be impossible for the most powerful exofcisms to con¬ 
jure out of them the love of such delicacies, but they will be 
unto them, as David saith, “ sweeter than honey and the 
honeycomb.” By reason of this power, our adversaries fear 
the operation of the divine word expressed in numbers; and 
that hath made them so bitter against our versified Psalms; 
yea, as I have heard them say, they term the singing of them 
in our vulgar tongues, the witch of heresy .” 

The rapid progress of Methodism was due, as much to the 
hymns of Charles Wesley, as to the sermons of Whitefield 
and John Wesley. The effective hymns and tunes spread 
everywhere among people who cared little for the eloquence 
of the preachers. An anecdote is related of the manner in 
which an Irishman was converted. “At Wexford the society 
was persecuted by Papists, and met in a closed barn. One 
of the persecutors had agreed to conceal himself within it 
beforehand, that he might open the door to his comrades 
after the people had assembled. He crept into a sack hard 
by the door. The singing commenced, but the Hibernian 
was so taken with the music that he thought he would hear 
it through before disturbing the meeting. He was so grati¬ 
fied that at its conclusion he thought he would hear the 
prayer also. But this was too powerful for him. He was 
seized with remorse and trembling, and roared out with such 
dismay as to appal the congregation, who began to believe 
that Satan himself was in the sack. The sack was at last 
pulled off of him, and disclosed the Irishman, a weeping 
penitent, praying with ali his might. He was permanently 
converted.” 

In view of the transforming power and the devotional ele¬ 
ments in spiritual song, it is highly important that the sing¬ 
ing in our churches be of a congregational character, with, of 


228 


THE CHURCH. 


course, a good choir to lead. During the first three centuries 
of the Christian church no other was known. Some time 
after the year 300 A. D. responsive singing began to be intro¬ 
duced. It was used in the Eastern church through the influ¬ 
ence of Flavian as early as 350, and in the Western, through the 
efforts of Ambrose, as early as 370. Then the choir was in¬ 
troduced, and gradually the singing passed to the clergy, who 
claimed this part of the service as peculiarly their own. To 
deprive the people more effectually of participating, the 
Latin language was introduced and finally prevailed. Thus 
it continued until the Reformation restored to the church the 
important element of congregational singing. As a powerful 
means of grace its use should be perpetuated in all Protes¬ 
tant congregations. 


THE OLD MAN IN THE STYLISH CHURCH. 



ELL, wife, I’ve been to church to-day—been to a stylish one— 
And seein’ you can’t go from home, I’ll tell you what was done; 
You would have been surprised to see what 1 saw there to-dav; 
The sisters were fixed up so fine they hardly bowed to pray. 


I had on these coarse clothes of mine—not much the worse for wear— 
Bpt, then, they know I 'wasn’t one they call a millionaire; 

So they led the old man to a seat away back by the door: 

’Twas bookless and uncushioned, a reserved seat for the poor . 

Pretty soon in came a stranger with gold ring and clothing fine, 

They led him to a cushioned seat far in advance of mine; 

I thought that wasn’t exactly right to seat him up so near, 

When he was young, and I was old, and very hard to hear. 


But, then, there’s no accountin’ for what some people do, 
The finest clothing nowadays, oft gets the finest pew ; 

But when we reach the blessed home, and undefiled by sin, 
We’ll see wealth begging at the gate, while poverty goes in. 


I couldn’t hear the sermon, I sat so far away : 

So through the hours of service, I could only “ watch and pray ; ” 

Watch the doin’s of the Christians sitting near me, round about; 

Pray that God would make them pure within, as they were pure without. 





THE CHURCH. 


229 

While I sat there, lookin’ all around upon the rich and great, 

I kept thinkin’ of the rich man and the beggar at the gate; 

How, by ail but dogs forsaken, the poor beggar’s form grew cold, 

And the angels bore his spirit to the mansions built of gold. 

How, at last the rich man perished, and his spirit took its flight. 

From the purple and fine linen, to the home of endless night; 

There he learned, as he stood gazin’ at the beggar in the sky, 

“ It isn’t all of life to live, nor all of death to die.” 

I doubt not there were wealthy sires in that religious fold, 

Who went up from their dwellings like the Pharisee of old ; 

Then returned home from their worship with a head uplifted high, 

To spurn the hungry from their door with naught to satisfy. 

Out! out! with such professions; they are doing more to-day 
To stop the weary sinner from the gospel’s shinin’ way 
Than all the books of infidels; than all that has been tried 
Since Christ was born in Bethlehem—since Christ was crucified, 

How simple are the works of God, and yet how very grand— 

The shells in ocean caverns—the flowers on the land— 

He gilds the clouds of evenin’ with gold light from his throne 
Not for the rich man only ; nor for the poor man alone. 

Then why should man look down on man, because of lack of gold? 

Why seat him in the poorest pew because his clothes are old? 

A heart of noble motives—a heart that God has blest— 

May be beatin’ heaven’s music ’neath that faded coat and vest. 

I’m old—I may be childish—but I love simplicity ; 

I love to see it shinin’ in a Christian’s piety; 

Jesus told us in his sermon, in Judea’s mountain wild, 

He that wants to go to heaven must be like a little child. 

Our heads are growing gray, dear wife—our hearts are beating slow— 
In a little while the Master will call for us to go: 

When we reach the pearly gateways, and look in with joyful eyes, 

We’ll see no stylish worship in the temple of the skies, 


J. II. Yates . 


230 


THE CHURCH. 

THE MODEL CHURCH. 


W ELL, wife, I found a model church ! I worshipped there to-day 
It made me think of good old times, before my head was gray 
The meetin’-house was fixed up more than they were years ago 
But then I felt, when I went in, it wasn’t built for show. 

The sexton didn’t seat me away back by the door; 

He knew that I was old and deaf, as well as old and poor; 

He must have been a Christian, because he led me through 
The long aisles of that crowded church, to find a place and pew. 

I wish you’d heard the singing, it had the old-time ring; 

The preacher said, with a trumpet voice : “ Let all the people sing! ” 

The tune was Coronation, and the music upward rolled 

Till I thought I heard the angels striking all their harps of gold. 

My deafness seemed to melt away, my spirit caught the fire, 

I joined my feeble, trembling voice with that melodious choir, 

And sang as in my younger days: “ Let angels prostrate fall, 

Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all.” 

I tell you, wife, it did me good to sing that song once more; 

I felt like some wrecked mariner, who gets a glimpse of shore ; 

I almost wanted to lay down this weather-beaten form, 

And anchor in the blessed port forever from the storm. 

The preachin’ ? Well, I can’t just tell all that the preacher said ; 

I know it wasn’t written ; I know it wasn’t read ; 

He hadn’t time to read it, for the lightning of his eyes 

Went flashin’ ’long from pew to to pew, nor passed a sinner by. 

The sermon wasn’t flowery, ’twas simple gospel truth ; 

It fitted poor, old men, like me; it fitted hopeful youth; 

’Twas full of consolation for weary hearts that bleed, 

’Twas full of invitation to Christ, and not to Creed. 

The preacher made sin hideous in Gentile and in Jews; 

He shot the golden sentences down in the finest pews; 

And—though I can’t see very well—I saw the falling tear, 

That told me hell was some ways off, and heaven very near. 

How swift the good moments fled within that holy place, 

How beautiful beamed the light of heaven from every happy face ; 
Again I longed for that sweet time when friend shall meet with friend, 
‘‘When congregations ne’er break up, and Sabbaths have no end.” 



THE CHURCH. 


231 


I hope to meet that minister—that congregation too— 

In the dear home beyond the stars that shine from heaven’s blue, 
I doubt not I’ll remember beyond life’s evening gray 
The happy hours of worship in that model church to-day. 

Dear wife, the fight will soon be fought, the victory be won; 

The shining goal is just ahead, the race is nearly won ; 

O’er the river we are nearing, they are thronging to the shore, 

To shout our safe arrival where the weary weep no more. 


CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE. 


REV. G. H. SOUDER, A. B., GREENVILLE, 0. 


HRISTIAN INFLUENCE is very much over¬ 
looked. Christians are too prone to forget that 
they are the ambassadors of Christ, as well as the 
recipients of his mercy. We fail to recognize 
sufficiently, that we “ are the salt of the earth,” 
and “ the light of the world.” We seem anxious 
to see the world converted; we pray, “ Thy king¬ 
dom come,” etc., but we scarcety feel that “ the 
kingdom of God is within us,” and that being 
within us, it is like a u leaven to leaven the whole 
lump” of humanity. The exercise of Christian influence is 
most strongly implied by such phrases as “the salt of the 
earth,” “ the light of the world,” Ac. 

But what are we to understand by Christian influence ? It 
is important here to study the two words of which our subject 
is composed. The word influence has a deep significance. It 
means the effect one has upon the character of another; that 
by which action and life are changed. We can, perhaps, see 
farther into the depths of the word by taking its original, or 
literal meaning. Influence means, literally, a flowing in. 
The influence, then, of our mind upon another, is the flowing 
or transmission of the characteristics and ideas of one mind 
to the other. 








THE CHURCH. 


A Christian influence, therefore, is the inflowing or trans¬ 
mitting of Christian elements of character. A Christian 
influence is a Christ-influence; an inflowing of Christ. This 
may appear as a strange and untenable view. But on a little 
further examination it will be found true. We maintain that 
a Christian influence must be a Christ-influence, i. e. an 
inflowing of Christ. To understand this position more fully, 
let us simply glance at the essential • elements of Christ’s 
character. We find in Christ love, humility, devotion, self- 
sacrifice, grace and mercy. Now, if we have a truly Chris¬ 
tian influence, these qualities of Christ will w flow from us 
into the hearts of our associates.” His brotherly love, his 
humility, his devotion and self-sacrifice should be impressed, 
by our example, upon the lives of our fellow-Christians. Our 
lives should be such as to make our fellow-Christians more 
Christ-like, i. e. more loving, more spiritually devoted, more 
humble and self-sacrificing. 

Again, our lives should be such as to cause the light of 
God’s loving grace to shine into the souls of the unconverted. 
Our very presence should radiate the love and purity of 
Christ, so that the sinner may contrast therewith his own 
impurity; so that he will be terrified at his own corruption 
and guilt, and also overjoyed at Christ’s mercy and forgive¬ 
ness. There may be moral influences which limit certain sins. 
There are no doubt social influences which cultivate much 
that is good in man. There are intellectual influences which 
stimulate study, and banish ignorance. But none of these 
are worthy of the aims of the true Christian, unless they 
subserve the ends of real Christian influence. They should 
aim to make all the excellencies of Christ'ftow into the hearts 
of our companions. 

But why is Christian influence such an important duty ? In 
the first place, it is our duty to exert a Christian influence 
because we are the servants of Christ, who died to save lost 
souls. If our Master died to save these souls, we should 
surely exert ourselves to influence them in his favor. Our 
Savior desires that all men be not only saved from sin, but 
that they also grow in grace. Hence it is our duty to feed 
each other on his truth and love. 

But some may consider themselves so insignificant, as to 


THE CIIURCII. 


233 


have no influence. This, however, is an error. Every one can 
have an influence for good. If any one has not, he should 
have. Every one makes some impression on some other per¬ 
son. It is impossible for minds to associate without some 
communication. Hence every mind has an influence, how¬ 
ever small. And it may be good if we only make it good. 
Every light, however small, makes some impression on the 
eye. The small lamp, if brought close enough, will illuminate 
the printed page even better than the great moon at her dis¬ 
tance. So, dear reader, if your Christian light be small and 
dim, get so much closer to the heart of mankind, and you will 
still be able to shed a Christian influence. „ 

Since man is essentially an active being, our inevitable ac¬ 
tivity constantly makes its impressions either for good or ill. 
To be a zero in society is impossible. Neither can a living 
man be dead in every sense. If we be dead to Christ, as 
many are, we are yet terribly alive to the devil. We are then 
either shedding a “ light that is light,” or a “ light that is dark¬ 
ness,” and if the latter be the case, u how great is that dark¬ 
ness ? ” Our lives then have an influence, that either leads 
men up nearer to God and heaven, or thrusts them down 
deeper into hell. If then we are not impressed as to our re¬ 
sponsibility in leading each other up, we should at least recog¬ 
nize the criminality of thrusting each other down. We are 
either a bright light, that cheers and elevates the sin-wearied 
soul, or a dark, offensive, smoky fire that blinds, and pains the 
open eye, and starts the seeker backward and downward. We 
are then under the double obligation to lead men up and 
avoid sending them down. If they go down by our influence, 
or by the means of it, their blood will be upon us. 

But how can we attain to an inflowing of Christ? In the 
first place, we cannot have a Christian influence upon others 
unless we have the Christ-like qualities in ourselves. And we 
cannot have them in us, except we receive them from Christ. 
We cannot shed a light, which we do not possess. And, as a 
planet has no light except what it receives from the sun, so 
have we no Christian light except what we receive from the 
Sun of Righteousness. We must then turn our hearts toward 
Christ, so that his light of love and humble devotion may 
shine into our souls. If avarice, sensuality and hatred occupy 


16 


THE CHURCH. 


234 


our hearts, we shall exert a worldly, sensual and malicious in¬ 
fluence. Hence, to exert a Christian influence, Christ must 
occupy our hearts. 

But we must exert ourselves to impress Christ upon our as¬ 
sociates, both by deed and word. We must try to live so as 
not to defame Christ. We must be watchful so that we do 
not allow the devil to utilize our weakness more than we do 
our Christ-given strength. It behooves us to study and guard 
our conversation so as to lead each other higher. And this is 
a point worthy of special attention. Joseph Cook gives the 
following four chief parts of religious conversation with the 
religiously irresolute. He says, u First, let there be secret 
prayer on your part, of the kind that approaches God through 
a total, affectionate, irreversible self-surrender to conscience, 
and this act will permeate you, by fixed natural law, with a 
strange power not your own. Next, ask the person with whom 
you converse ‘What is your chief religious difficulty ? 5 Per¬ 
haps he does not know what his greatest difficulty is. But if 
you induce him to make an effort to state that difficulty, you 
help him to solve it. * * * Try next to untie the 

knot by clear ideas and round words. Then lastly kneel 
down with that man, and by the courageous self-surrender of 
two souls face to face with the Unseen Hoty, ask the Divine 
Nature to untie the knot.” If we were to follow these steps 
more closely, we should have a greater Christian influence. 
Finally, let us remember three things: First, to study Christ 
in prayer and in his word; second, to appropriate Christ to our¬ 
selves by prayer and practice; third, to transmit Christ by the 
four steps which Joseph Cook, points out. 










THE INFLUENCE OF DOING GOOD TO OTHERS. 



HAT MORE reasonable than the belief that life 
becomes broader, deeper, fuller, more abundant, 
in proportion as it is concerned with the virtues of 
others? By identifying itself with the lives of 
many, by making their cause its own, by entering 
sympathetically into all their sorrows, hopes and 
fears, it must inevitably enlarge its own capacity 
and elevate its character. Just as the heavens increase in 
radiance proportionate to the multiplication of stars, that 
gleam in their vault; just as the winds increase in fragrance 
according to the extent of sweet-scented fields over which 
they blow; and just as the river grows in fullness the greater 
the number of streams that flow into its bosom, so life must 
become more luminous, more fragrant, and more complete 
the more it admits the hopes of others to a place in its sky, 
and mingles the griefs and cares of others in its floods. The 
mother is conscious of an expansiveness of soul and of a 
peculiar personal elevation, that comes with her self-surrender 
for her child. And the more she denies herself the pleasures 
of society, when they seem to conflict with devotion to her 
offspring, the more ennobled does she feel, and, in reality, 
the more ennobled she is. Another star glitters in the azure 
of her love, and though a tiny one, it brightens the path of 
her feet. The man who is entirely absorbed in business, 
who has no thought beyond its marts, and no ambition higher 
than its gains, may, in many respects, be very estimable, but 
obviously his spiritual stature cannot be as great, nor his 
capacities for enjoyment be as large as they would be were 
he steadfastly to make his temporal affairs directly tributary 
to the well-being of humanity. In the former case he 
becomes gradually assimilated to the dryness, hardness, and 
narrowness of his pursuits; but, in the latter, like Lorenzo 
De Medici, he grows towards the fair, or grand ideal for the 
actualization of which he cheerfully endures the daily round 
of monotonous toil and care. Hence it is that, in trade and 






236 


THE CHURCH. 


commercial circles, we frequently meet with men, who tower 
above their associates, and whose presence carries with it sun¬ 
shine and peace. They are poets, artists, saints, or scholars 
in their instincts; they desire to beautify, sanctify and 
enlighten the race; and, swayed by this passion, they rise 
early, retire late, and submit to all kinds of self-denial, that 
means may be procured for its gratification, and in doing this 
they themselves become beautified, sanctified and enlightened. 

— Lorimer. 


NO KING REWARDS HIS LOYAL SUBJECTS 
LIKE CHRIST. 



REV. J. J. M. GRUBER, ADA, 0. 


HE FORMS of life and activity, with which we are 
familiar, pass away. There is nothing in our 
immediate grasp that does not soon disappear. 
The morning light soon grows intense in noonday 
splendor, and then declines, and, at last, dies amid 
the softer glories of the sunset. And so with the 
buds that open with the morning light. Yester¬ 
day they were but seeds just planted, to-day they 
are blushing with ten thousand hues of beauty, 
and to-morrow they will be gathered for the burning, and 
reduced to dry, pale ashes. Wreck and ruin meet the eye as 
we glance at the past. Thrones have crumbled, empires 
have fallen, whilst philosophers and their systems are no 
more. The mouldering monuments of man’s greatness are 
the silent mockery of his weakness. There is nothing mate¬ 
rial that can stand the test of time and eternity. The richest 
and most powerful rulers are unable to bestow upon their best 
and noblest subjects anything permanently good and useful. 
In the only enduring kingdom, of which Christ is king, every 
loyal subject receives a crown , and then how comforting to 












THE CHURCH. 


237 

know that this crown is a purchased one. “ It became him 
for whom are all things in bringing many sons unto glory to 
make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffer¬ 
ing.” u It behooved him to be made like unto his brethren 
tor, in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted he is able 
to succor them that are tempted,” so that with body and soul, 
both in life and death, we are not our own but belong to our 
faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with.his precious blood hath 
fully satisfied for all our sins and delivered us from all the 
power of the devil. Jesus, the Son of God, came in the great¬ 
ness of his might, and in the fullness of his love, and took 
upon himself our nature, suffered, and gave himself a sacri¬ 
fice for the sins of the world, that we might be saved. Then, 
having finished the work given him to do, he went into 
heaven, where enthroned, he reigns as the mediatorial sover¬ 
eign for the accomplishment of his mission, the final and 
eternal salvation of his people. Having accomplished all 
things, he has purchased a crown for each loyal subject, a 
crown that will never sadden the wearer. 

Usually a crown is attended with many anxieties, and this 
was never truer than at present, when heavy rests nearly 
every head that wears a crown. With Nihilism in Russia, 
Socialism in France, Rationalism in Germany, Jesuitism in 
Italy, and Landlordism in England, all the crowned heads 
tremble. Not so with those who wear the crown of righteous¬ 
ness, for it enables each and all to be the very best citizens in 
the worst form of government. Whilst governments are con¬ 
stantly changing, and those who rule them are passing away, 
this crown never fades. How it would augment our comfort, 
increase our joy, inspire our hearts, and delight our souls, 
could we realize that the loving Savior is at God’s right hand 
in constant communication with the Father in our behalf, and 
could we think of him in heaven, as really engaged in the 
work of our redemption as when in Gethsemane, and see him 
on the throne as distinctly as we conceive of him on the cross, 
and hear him pleading as really above as he ever prayed on 
earth. 

This crown is, again, indestructible. The cries of the 
human soul could never be answered except by him who 
made it, nor could the scheme of redemption have been 


238 


THE CHURCH. 


wrought out by any other than the eternal and only begotten 
Son of God, who now promises a crown of life to all who 
remain faithful to him unto death. It has been well said, 
“ Christ is a noble and liberal paymaster, and no small things 
can fall from so great a hand as his is.” Who does not desire 
to wear a fadeless and imperishable crown of glory? 

“ There I shall wear a starry crown, 

And triitmph in almighty grace; 

While all the armies of the skies. 

Join in my glorious Leader’s praise.” 


TRUE STRENGTH—ITS SOURCE-OUR NEED AND 
USE OF IT. 



REV. J. R. SKINNER, BREMEN, 0. 


OW OFTEN our hearts are touched with sympa¬ 
thy, when we look upon those of the human 
family, whose weak, trembling emaciated forms 
we meet in the common path of life, dependent 
upon others for all the necessary comforts of life, 
a seeming burden to themselves, as well as to those 
who tenderly and patiently care for them! We 
cannot help noticing the marked difference, in this respect, 
in the human family. While some are thus physically weak, 
others are robust and hearty, whose large, well-developed, 
muscular bodies and great powers of endurance indicate that 
they are endowed with a goodly portion of physical strength. 

And, when we consider the arduous duties, that are incum¬ 
bent upon us in all the various honorable pursuits of life, we 
readily see that a strong, robust constitution is of great value, 
and a gift not to be despised by any, but rather to be sought 
and cherished by all. 

Yet necessary as physical strength is to accomplishing the 
work and business of life, in clearing the forest, tilling the soil, 
working the mines, yea in all that pertains to the procuring of 














THE CHURCH. 


239 

our daily bread, yet how often do we see this precious gift of 
God despised, misused, and abused, until that once strong, 
manly form, begins to tremble, falter, and, soon shattered, 
falls, as the giant oak beneath the lightning’s stroke. 

Such differences are seen, also, in the powers of mind. And 
how much we should prize the gift of strong mental faculties, 
when we consider that their value in the business of life cannot 
be overestimated. Yet, too often, as in the case of physical 
strength, the strongest mental powers are so neglected as to 
prevent their proper normal developement, or are so misap¬ 
plied as to be of no real value to the possessor or others; and 
often so abused as to prove their ruin. 

But desirable and necessary as are both physical and men¬ 
tal strength in the duties of life, there is another kind of 
strength without which these former will, in the end, prove to 
be of no true value to their possessors, which we call spiritual 
strength, which is of so much account in the struggles and 
conflicts of life, that we would call careful and earnest atten¬ 
tion to it. Like the former, it is God’s gift, but unlike them, 
it is not a power, that belongs to us naturally, needing only 
culture and development on our part, but is bestowed only 
on those who realize their weakness in the conflict with 
temptation and vice, and their utter unfitness to bear the 
crosses and burdens, to endure the reproaches and trials, and 
bravely meet the dangers of life. On such only, who, with 
earnest desire of heart, seek it at the hand of the 44 Giver of 
every good and perfect gift,” is it bestowed. 

We see the need of this strength, when we consider that 
without it, we can neither u love God with all the heart, nor 
our neighbor as ourselves,” and that we cannot “love our 
enemies,” think a good thought, do a good deed, nor bear wit¬ 
ness for Jesus. Then how far short do we come of rightly 
performing the various religious duties, that are incumbent 
upon us without it? 

Attendance on divine service becomes a mere habit; prayer 
is not “ effectual, fervent, availing much in the sight of God;” 
benevolent contributions are few and small, bringing no joy 
to the giver; family worship is a burden and often neglected; 
in short, we lack the graces essential to make us truly conse¬ 
crated disciples of Christ. 


240 


THE CHURCH. 


We need-divine strength, again, to enable us to withstand 
the temptations and alluring vices of this age. How many, 
who have been the veriest slaves to the wine-cup, to opium, 
and tobacco habits, and other degrading and destroying vices, 
have successfully resisted and overcome them when in the pos¬ 
session of this strength? Having it, however, we should 
not hide it in a napkin, nor bury it in the earth, nor let the 
cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke it, 
so that it fails to be fruitful; for, we need it constantly, as we 
are always beset on every hand with the powers of evil. 

Though we may not possess the physical strength of a 
Samson, nor the spiritual strength of a Paul, yet we can use 
well what is given us, and thereby benefit ourselves and our 
fellow-men, and honor God the giver. 

When we look upon those who possess superior physical, 
mental, or spiritual endowments, we should not covet their 
gifts, nor envy their attainments, and, in so doing, neglect the 
improvement of our own, until they become so weakened as 
to cause us to despair of ever attaining to positions of useful¬ 
ness, or of achieving some great end. 

The great abuse and disuse of these powers in this age is 
truly alarming, and we should the more earnestly improve 
what God has graciously given us, lest we fall into the seem¬ 
ingly growing tendency of the age, and despair of success in 
life, because we cannot, by one master effort or giant stride, 
perform that which another has done, and so give up, cherish¬ 
ing the, too often false, belief, that we are not adapted to the 
work, and have not the strength necessary to do the work 
assigned us. Do we not too often forget that those who have 
reached that for which we are striving, did so through years 
of constant application and effort as did Moody, and many 
others, whose names will at once suggest themselves to our 
minds. 

This want of perseverance clearly reveals the want of 
spiritual strength. For, it is to supply all the needs of the 
soul, and, these supplied, all our other wants become few, so 
that we can say with Paul, u I have learned in whatsoever 
state I am, therewith to be content.” Hence he says, u Godli¬ 
ness with contentment is great gain.” 

Dear reader, do you possess this strength ? If not let me 


THE CHURCH. 


241 

point you to Jesus, its giver, who says, “ Come unto me all ye 
that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” 
Seek to be u strong in the Lord and in the power of his 
might,” knowing as Paul did, “ I can do all things through 
Christ, who strengtheneth me.” 

“ O, cheer thee, cheer thee suffering saint, 

Though worn with chastening be not faint; 

And though the night of pain seems long, 

Cling to thy Lord in him be strong; 

He marks, he numbers every tear, 

Not one faint sigh escapes his ear. 


CHRISTIAN ASSURANCE. 


REV. J. IHLE, A. M., BELLEVUE, OHIO. 


HEN THE grace of God so dwells in the heart, 
that his love to us, and our love to him unite in 
a living testimony for God and his truth, Christian 
Assurance is but another name for the wonders 
divine grace hath wrought in the soul. It has its 
ground in him, “ whom God hath exalted to be a 
Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and 
and remission of sins.” True faith in him is necessary to 
make us possessors of its benefits, according to the definition 
of faith, as “An assured confidence which the Holy Ghost 
works, by the gospel, in our hearts, that not only to others, but 
to us also, forgiviness of sins, everlasting righteousness, and 
salvation are freely given by God, merely for the sake of 
Christ’s merits. 

It manifests itself first as the full assurance of understand¬ 
ing through simple faith in Christ, and is rooted and grounded 
in the soul to the transformation of the character and life. 
When the gospel comes not in word only, but in power 
and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance, “ The soul is 
turned from idols to serve the true and living God.” The 
Christian knows that he is faithful who has promised, and 
rests with sweet assurance in Him who is “true and faithful.” 












242 


THE CHURCH. 


There are certainties in our religion, for u He that believeth 
not is condemned, already.” “We must be perfectly con¬ 
scious of our conversion and of the forgiveness of our sins ; 
and we must believe God has accepted us ; and unless we so 
believe, we are lost forever.” 

The mercy of God is as sure as his word. I believe God, for 
he tells me, he has pardoned me. Thousands have seen the 
cross, and felt they must believe. Cromwell in his last 
moments said: “ The Lord hath tilled me with as much 

assurance of his pardon and his love as my soul can hold.” 
Job said, “ I know that my Redeemer liveth; ” and Paul, 
“ I know in whom I have believed.” Oh ! the joyful sense 
of pardoned sin. Full forgiveness—free forgiveness— 
eternal forgiveness; how rich the blessing. To know that 
God has blotted out our sins, is knowledge rich with unuttera¬ 
ble bliss. 

The soul joins in the song of the Seraphim, when it hears 
the note, “ I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy trans¬ 
gressions and as a cloud thy sins.” May the word send 
alike thrill of joy into your soul, as you “Behold the Lamb 
of God. that taketh away the sin of the world.” Go to John 
and let him teach you how “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth 
us from all sin.” “ I write unto you, little children, because 
your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.” Let Paul 
admonish you, “ forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s 
sake hath forgiven you; ” and Luke instructs you when he says* 
“ through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of 
sins.” If we believe that Christ died for us, and rose again 
for our justification, we may be assured that our sins are for¬ 
given for his name’s sake. 

Some people say it is not our privilege to know that we are 
saved. Luther, in a private letter, says “ that Satan having 
said to him v Martin, do you feel you area child of God!-’ 
answered shortly , 4 No! but I am sure of it! Get thee behind 
me.” Firm and beautiful reply. It alone is worth a volume. 
If I sincerely believe in the Lord Jesus, in the forgivness of 
sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting, I 
must believe that I have passed from death unto life, and shall 
not come into condemnation. Christ says, “ Whosoever will* 
let him come and take of the water of life freely.” The 


THE CHURCH. 


243 

apostle John says, u These tilings have I written unto you, that 
ye may know that ye have eternal life,” and God hath given 
to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 

How a person may be sure that God has saved him is by be¬ 
lieving his testimony. The word and promise of God lead us to 
believe ourselves children of God, before being fully sanctified 
by his Spirit. Salvation is not in word onty, but in power; 
for it is a deliverance from the power as well as the guilt of 
sin; a preparation for a holy life here on earth and a life of 
bliss in heaven. That I may be saved in a single minute by 
believing in Jesus, that every sin I have committed, however 
black, may be washed away ere the clock ticks again, I believe, 
for they who drink of the fountain Christ has opened for sin 
and uncleanness, shall themselves become rivers of living 
water. 

That the Spirit is received by faith runs like a silver thread 
through the history of the early Christians, to whom Paul 
said, “ If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit,” 
who is the source of light, life, love, and liberty, and is the 
choicest of God’s gifts. When he enters into the heart, we 
are saved from the death, love power, and the terror of sin, 
and have the graces of the Christian wrought in us. A life, 
that conforms to the will of God, is the result of the operation 
of the Spirit in the heart which he has sanctified. 

It is sspd that the slave, who found a very valuable diamond 
in Brazil, was given his liberty. The gem appears to the un¬ 
practiced eye as a common gray pebble; but, when polished and 
set, is a prize for a queen’s coronet. Whe.n the slave of sin has 
faith in God, he obtains liberty for his soul and confidence in 
him whose Spirit alone can make the soul a thing of beauty, and 
a joy forever ; “ while faith remains a crown of righteousness 
that fadeth not away.” 

And when we have found this pearl of greatest price, what 
better can we do than to lead others to the fount of blessing. 
A Sunday-school teacher held up his watch and asked his class 
what it was for. “ To keep time,” was the answer. But sup¬ 
pose it does not keep time what is it good for? Good for 
nothing! Similar questions and replies were made as the 
teacher held up a pencil and a knife. What is man good for? 
To glorify God! But suppose he does not, what is he good 


244 


THE CHURCH. 


for? Good for nothing ! What were you converted, forgiven, 
and renewed for but to tell to others the glad tidings ot sal¬ 
vation and so to glorify God ? 

And would you be such a means of blessing to mankind as 
God designed in revealing his Son to you, ever hold fast the 
assurance of the changeless, infinite, everlasting love of God, 
which has taken ns up in our low and lost estate, and made us 
sons of God, and will never fail us, never let us go until we 
enter upon the eternal and unbroken communion ot our 
Father’s House above. 


WHY WE OBSERVE THE FIRST BAY OF THE WEEK 
AS THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. 


REV. A. E. BAICHLY, A. M., GRAND RAPIDS, 0. 


HE SABBATH had its origin in the necessities of 
the creature and in the positive command of God. 
It was a day set apart and sanctified by the Lord 
as a memorial of his greatness and goodness in 
the work of creation. It was a day of holy rest. 

This day was kept before the people of Israel 
as a perpetual obligation, and, from the clouds and 
smoke of,Sinai, it was commanded: “Remem¬ 
ber the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” It was to the 
Jews, beside a moral and religious observance, also a 
ceremonial. With them it was a day of rest, of cessation 
from daily cares, a violation of which was punishable with 
death. But in it then, as now, were permitted all works of 
charity and necessity, and it was a special time for prayer, 
praise, the public and private worship of God and the study of 
his word. Being a necessity, its observance is a moral and 
Christian duty. Richard Hooker said of it, “We are to 
account the sanctification of one day in seven a duty, which 
God’s immutable law doth exact forever.” Justice M’Clean, 
upon the same subject, says, “ Where there is no Christian 















THE CHURCH. 


245 

Sabbath, there is no Christian morality, and without this, free 
institutions cannot long be sustained.” It is perfectly clear 
that the law of our being, as well as the law of God, demands 
a Christian Sabbath. 

u What day shall it be? The seventh, as originally, or the 
first, as now?” For, there is no disguising the fact, that the 
day has been changed under the Christian dispensation. 
While originally the seventh day was the Sabbath of the 
world, with Christians everywhere, the first day of the 
week is now observed. Why ? 

First, the Old Testament Sabbath commemorated simply 
the greatness of the work of creation, while the first day of 
the week is a memorial of a still greater event, the comple¬ 
tion of the work of atonement, in the resurrection of Christ. 
Early on the first day of the week, the day after the Jewish 
Sabbath, the Savior arose from the dead. The change from 
the seventh day seems to have been made at once, and to all 
appearances, under the direction of the u Lord of the Sab¬ 
bath ; ” for, on the same day, the first day of the week, he 
appeared among his disciples, and on the next recurrence of 
the first day, he was again with them, and revealed himself to 
Thomas. 

We find a second reason for it in apostolic practice and 
precedent, for it appears that the disciples in all places were 
accustomed to meet regularly, for worship and for celebrating 
# the Lord’s supper, on the first day of the week. Christians 
everywhere, proofs of which cannot be given in special ex¬ 
amples in this short article, assembled on the first day of the 
week for communion and religious instruction, as in the case 
of the church at Troas. Acts xx. 6-11. John, the revelator, 
regarded the day with special solemnity, and it had, already 
in his time, received the name of the u Lord’s day,” which it 
has ever since retained. Paul, in his writings, frequently re¬ 
fers to it as the day of the church’s rest and worship, and 
commends with its observance giving as an act of worship. 
He exhorts them, when they meet on the first day of the week, 
evidently the day of their religious gatherings, to lift a col¬ 
lection for the saints. The early Christian fathers refer to the 
first day of the week as the time set apart for worship, and 
also speaks freely and reliably of the change of the day on 


246 


THE CHURCH. 


account of the resurrection of Christ. Upon this point the 
testimony of the younger Pliny, Justin Martyr, Clement and 
many others, is explicit. 

Now it is not possible that the apostles and the fathers of 
the church, no farther removed than they were from the Sav¬ 
ior and the day of his resurrection and this change, should 
have been deceived and led unto a practice or a change of 
observance, such as this, if unwarranted. It is not true then, 
as the Judaistic sticklers for the seventh day declare, that the 
observance of the first day of the week, was only made obli¬ 
gatory by an edict of Constantine the Great, in 321-325 A. D., 
for by him it was only secured to his realm. 

Archbishop Whately said u that he was anxious in common 
with all the churches, who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sin¬ 
cerity and truth, that Christ’s resurrection day should be set 
apart more particularly for religious worship, study, and med¬ 
itation.” Thus it is with the whole Christian world since 
that greatest miracle of history. To them, every Sunday is an 
Easter day of joy and glory, as it brings to mind the victory 
of a conquering Savior over death and the grave, and assures 
us of our resurrection and eternal life in heaven. As it were, 
we instinctively keep it, under the conviction of a Christian 
conscience. 

It is not true, as some affirm, that the particular day is not 
material, if only one-seventh of our time is consecrated to 
God; for, around this u Lord’s day,” there cluster the holies^ 
and fondest memories, the sweetest and happiest recollec¬ 
tions, that sanctify and crystalize it in human hearts. 

“ Day of all the week the best, 

Emblem of eternal rest.” 

Again, the worship and usages of the gospel church were to 
be preserved distinctively Christian and free from all Jewish 
prejudice or bias; and, in this, appears another reason for the 
change of the Sabbath from the one, which the Jews observed, 
not only with a moral but also a ceremonial significance, and 
which was among the things,which were “ a shadow of things to 
come.” This law had been fulfilled in Christ, and with him 
had been introduced the better things of the gospel. 

This was only one of the many things in which changes 


THE CHURCH. 


247 

were made and permitted by him. It is enough for us to 
know that the scholarship and sanction of the church for 
nineteen centuries has transmitted to us the first day of the 
week as our Sabbath, and so long as this observance is undis¬ 
turbed by the Christian conscience, or the pious convictions 
of the human heart, it will ever remain the “ Lord’s day ” to 
the people of God. The “ Sabbath made for man ” shall ever 
be the strong-hold of freedom, the church’s day of joy, and 
the feast-time of Christian souls; keeping ever before the 
minds of God’s people the great fact u that there remaineth a 
rest for the people of God ” in that place 

“ Where congregations ne’er break up 
And Sabbaths have no end.” 


THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE SABBATH. 


MRS. M. LIB. GRUBER, ADA, OHIO. 


ABBATH WAS made for man, and not man 
for the Sabbath, says our Savior, and, in all God’s 
word, the teaching stands pre-eminent that the 
Sabbath was especially given to man to be spent 
in fitting himself for the service of God here, and 
the employments of heaven hereafter. To spend 
the day in thoughtless, idle conversation, or spir¬ 
ited social enjoyments, is entirely foreign to God’s teaching. 
To be a devout worshiper in the morning, and a frivolous gos¬ 
siping visitor in the afternoon, is out of keeping with the 
fitness of things; and, to say the least, shows to the world an 
example of decidedly bad taste. 

To many good, pious Christians the Sabbath drags heavily, 
because they observe it in a strained manner in contradistinc¬ 
tion from the Sabbath profanation indulged in by some less scru¬ 
pulous professors. The most exemplary Christians are some¬ 
times heard to acknowledge that the days when they have no 
preaching, are tiresome, or that their afternoons grow long 
when the morning service is over. Their restlessness betrays 













248 


THE CHURCH. 


the fact that they are keeping the Sabbath by a prescribed 
rule, rather than from the delight it affords. It seems to be 
clear to them that a “ holy resting” involves an absolute ab¬ 
staining from any occupation, except purely devotional exer¬ 
cises of worship in its strictest sense, and that even works of 
necessity and mercy must be limited to their narrowest bounds. 
Might they not spend a part of the day in giving attention to 
works of charity? There are the sick, the aged and u the poor, 
that we always have with us ” in almost every neighboorhod, 
who need, and, perhaps, long for the kind attention, that only 
the devout Christian can give. This would certainly be proper 
employment for even the most rigid, while the open profaners 
of the day might find this a useful and profitable way of cor¬ 
recting their habits. 

One may feel unfit to lead in suitable conversation for the 
occcasion, but that is no excuse for not making the attempt. 
Besides, even the atmosphere of a person filled with the 
proper spirit would be wholesome in its influence. There are 
few church-goers, who cannot read intelligently, and, perhaps, 
the reading of a portion of Scripture would be acceptable, and 
works of mercy are such as are done in the Lord’s name to his 
suffering sick and poor. 

If those, who find the Sabbath long and wearisome, as they 
are compelled to admit that they frequently do, would adopt 
this plan of sanctifying and hallowing it, they might find in¬ 
creased pleasure mingled with their efforts to serve the Lord 
in his own appointed way. It will be found, at least, a help 
to the better enjoyment of the service of the evening, whether 
in the public or private exercises of God’s worship. 


POSITION OF THE CHURCH WITH REFERENCE 
TO THE SIN OF INTEMPERANCE. 


REV. A. K. ZARTMAN, A. M., GOSHEN, IND. 

ND THE Lord spake unto Aaron saying, “ Do 
not drink wine nor strong drink, thou nor 
thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle 
of the congregation, lest ye die; it shall be a 
statute forever throughout your generations.” 
Lev. x:8,9. 

u The German and English speaking races have 
t suffered more from intemperance, than from war, 
pestilence, and famine.”— Gladstone. 

“All the crimes on earth do not destroy so many of the 
human race, nor alienate so much property as drunkenness.” 
—Lord Bacon. 

Intemperance is the monster evil of this age. u Rum is the 
curse of England,,” and it is no less the curse of America. It 
is the “ roaring lion,” traveling up and down this fair land of 
ours, seeking whom he may devour. Infuriated with Satanic 
malice and cruelty, this evil of evils is brazen-hearted and 
merciless. It is no respecter of persons, neither of age nor 
culture, neither of royal manhood, the sensibility of woman¬ 
hood, nor of helpless infancy, neither of body nor soul. His 
foot-prints, red with human blood, are seen in every place : 
in the streets of the city and hamlet; on the green turf of 
fruitful valleys and hillsides; on the thrones of kings, and in 
the chambers of commerce and legislation ; and in places as 
sacred as the home circle, and the church of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. To such colossal dimensions has this evil grown, that 
its devastations are everywhere manifested, and its effects as 
innumerable as the devils that possessed the demoniac of the 
New Testament. Their name is Legion. “Intemperance,” 
says a famous divine, “ is the great enemy of our time. The 
monster has the world for a home, the flesh for a mother, and 
the devil for a father. By this monster, industry is robbed 



17 





250 


THE CIIURCII. 


and beggared, public peace disturbed and broken, private safe¬ 
ty gagged and garroted, common justice violated and 
trampled, popular conscience debauched and prostituted, 
manhood wrecked and ruined, and helpless innocence waylaid 
and assassinated. 

The lawful attitude of the church and every peace-loving 
and God-fearing man toward an evil of such proportions, and 
working such devastations, can only be an attitude of decided 
vigorous, uncompromising, and continuous antagonism, until 
the rage of the curse succumbs and the dragon is throttled 
forever. That such is the only lawful position for the church 
to take on this issue ought to be self-evident to every Christian 
man in consideration of the extent and annual cost of this 
evil, the misery it entails upon its victims, both in body and 
in soul, and the poverty and woes with which it visits the 
home and society. 

It is often claimed that this evil is exaggerated. But 
official reports and figures are not likely to misrepresent the 
truth. And it is more likely that the most of this crime will 
not and cannot be known, nor told, than that it is overdrawn. 
Dr. Guthrie says u It is impossible to exaggerate, impossible 
truthfully, to paint the effects of this evil, either on those, 
who are addicted to it, or on those who suffer from it.” 
Cannon Farrar says, u I must confess that it is only familiar¬ 
ity with the subject that can at all impress us with its mag¬ 
nitude. It seems to me nothing more nor less than a Fury 
withering and blighting the whole fame of England.” 

The extent and annual cost of this crime as shown by sta¬ 
tistical reports, is simply appalling. Recently the following 
statement appeared in the New York Sun: “During the year 
1881 in the city of New York for the education of children 
some $4,000,000 was expended, while the drinking places, of 
which there are 9,215, absorbed, it is estimated, the enormous 
sum of $60,000,000.” According to the report of the Com¬ 
missioner of the United States Treasury, the amount of 
money expended in one year for liquors is over $1,483,000,000. 
All the food, and food productions for our fifty millions of 
people, costs only a trifle over $600,000,000 per year, while the 
liquor traffic costs two and one-half times more than the food 
for the nation. Intemperance sends annually 100,000 crimi- 


THE CHURCH. 


251 

nals to our prisons, 200,000 more to the poor-houses, and sends 
200,000 orphans into the streets, shelterless, shivering, and 
hungry.” In the year 1880, there were 756,893 deaths in the 
United States. At the lowest estimate fifteen per cent, of this 
mortality was produced, either directly or indirectly, by the 
curse of intemperance. This monster evil darkens this land 
with murders and suicides, and with 300 funerals every day of 
the year. In the year 1870, the total value of church property 
in the country was $354,483,000. Four months abstinence 
from drink would buy it out. 

As a result of the extent and ravages of this evil, the 
country is burdened with taxes, both for the support of 
pauperism and the prosecution of crimes committed by it. 
A United States Senator, after thirty years extensive practice 
as a lawyer, gives as his opinion, that four-fifths of all the 
crimes committed in the United States, can be traced to 
intemperance. The Prison Discipline report states that of 
125,000 criminals committed to our prisons in one year, 93,750 
were excited to their commission of crime by spirituous 
liquors. Of 781 maniacs in different insane hospitals, 392 were 
rendered maniacs by strong drink. Of 1,959 paupers, 1,790 
were made such by spirituous liquors. These testimonies set 
forth the monstrosities of this devouring curse, and the 
annual costs with which the country is burdened. 

A second phase of this evil, yet far more serious than the 
cost and waste of dollars and cents, is the injury done to body 
and soul, to health, mental vigor, peace, love, and happiness. 
“Who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contentions, who 
hath wounds without cause? They that tarry long at the 
wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. Look thou not upon 
the wine when it is red. At last it biteth like a serpent, and 
stingeth like an adder.” These are the faithful admonitions 
of God, and it is evident that the danger which attends the 
use of liquor must be most serious, since the Lord speaks 
with such terrible words of warning. Where can we look for 
more convincing testimony of the wasting effects of liquor 
upon body and soul, than to those who are the victims of this 
raging evil. The young man, who should be in the bloom 
and vigor of full manhood, is already in the decay of old age. 
His form trembles as the aspen leaf, and he moves with a 


THE CHURCH. 


252 

palsied step. “This ‘Fury’ never touches the brute creation, 
but as the most venomous of all beings, it seizes the noblest 
prey. It sends its poisonous fangs deep into the body. And 
where it once leaves its subtle poison, farewell to health, fare¬ 
well to long life. The door is open, and in rushes the deadliest 
plagues let loose on fallen man, all terminating in delirium 
tremens, a prelude to the eternal bufferings of foul spirits in 
the world of despair.” 

The highest medical authority speaks in startling words of 
warning of the blasting effects of liquor upon the body. “No 
cause of disease has so wide a range, nor so large a share as 
the use of spirituous liquors.” “The tendency of ardent 
spirits when used even moderately, is to induce disease, pre¬ 
mature old age and death. The effects of drunkenness upon 
the mind and heart are most vitiating and withering. Intoxi¬ 
cants impair the memory, debilitate the understanding, and 
pervert the moral faculty. “ They reduce a man to a beast, 
to a fool, to a devil. Intemperance blunts and sears the moral 
faculties. The heart becomes, under its influence, harder 
than the nether mill-stone. It makes men as insensible as 
blocks of marble to all the “ thunders of Sinai,” and to the 
sweet strains of Zion. It is the fruitful source of lying, pro¬ 
fanity, Sabbath-breaking, contentions, and licentiousness. 
And raises up an army, who clamor for no Sabbath, no Bible, 
and no Savior. The final doom of the drunkard is foretold 
in the inspired word, in the awful declaration that no drunk¬ 
ard shall enter the kingdom of God. “To die as the drunkard 
dies, an outcast from society, in some hovel, or ditch, or 
frozen in a storm, to die of delirium tremens, conscience 
upbraiding, hell opening, and foul spirits passing quick before 
his vision, to seize him before his time, this is woe, this is the 
triumph of sin and Satan.” 

But is this the extent, the sum-total of the cost and waste 
of the woe and sorrow of this curse? Would to God that it 
were. But alas, such are the links which bind together the 
different members of the human family into social and 
domestic relations, that what is the folly and sin of one 
bruises the heart of another, and fills it with sighs and sor¬ 
rows. The drunkard, like the leper, infests the entire com 


THE CHURCH. 253 

munity in which he lives with a malady that will tell of its 
ravages for years to come. 

Who can estimate the woes, sighs, and desolations which 
intemperance brings into the drunkard’s home. 

“ Domestic happiness, thou only bliss 

Of Paradise that hast escaped the fall.” 

Behold thou art shipwrecked here. This Goliath curse hath 
robbed thee of thy strength and beauty, thy peace and bliss. 
Home, sweet home, thy sacred altars, and thy purity have 
been desecrated, thy ceaseless round of bliss is broken, thy 
sunshine has been darkened. Thy song of mirth is changed 
into weeping,—the monster has entered thy door,—the hus¬ 
band, the pillar has fallen. The son, the hope of the mother’s 
heart, has been decoyed. Her joy is turned into sorrow, and 
who can tell the depth of that mother’s woe. Who is able to 
tell of the broken hearts of mothers and loving wives, of the 
wounds and sighs, and of the cries of poverty which come up 
daily from the drunkard’s home. Dear ones neglected and 
forsaken, little ones robbed, hunger-bitten, and shelterless, 
walking unshod amid winter snows, until at last they suc- 
sumb to the awful fate of the drunkard’s child, and kind 
Providence takes them to a better home, where no drunken 
father will ever molest, or disturb their peace. 

This sin is the curse of the age, the colossal monster of all 
evils, the great enemy of religion and humanity. What are 
its deserts ? “ The thunder has not voice enough to utter the 
deep curse it deserves. The wrath of the ocean in its black¬ 
est tempest and fury, cannot adequately pour out the indigna¬ 
tion which this monster merits. One need to dip his brush 
in the blackness of perdition to paint the horrible features of 
this demon.” When will the rage of this Fury cease ? When 
shall liberty be declared from the thraldom of this curse ? 
When will this monster be throttled? What must be done? 
“ The need of the hour is a grand tidal wave of total absti¬ 
nence sweeping over the land. The strongest protest possible 
must be made against intemperance; total abstinence is the 
protest. Will it be made with sufficient force to save the 
people ? This is the vital question for the future of America, 
and for the future of religion. Total abstinence is the saving 


254 


THE CHURCH. 


principle. Will the men be found in sufficient numbers to 
make it a living power? The answer rests with the people.” 
Let every Christian man and woman rise in fiery indignation 
against this enemy, and in the strength of the Lord, fight 
until the foe is vanquished. 


ONE SHEAF-A PASTOR’S SONG. 


O NE little sheaf; but one, 

Lord of the harvest, bring I unto thee. 

Around me wave broad fields of nodding grain, 
Summer and spring’s glad sunshine and soft rain 
And autumn's witchery 

Have piled my neighbor’s lofts with ripened ears; 
And yet small increase of my stores appears 

Only one sheaf; fair, pure 
As a young lily bending in the sun. 

Others rejoice to guide the loaded wain, 

The vintage rings to harvest shouts again, 

But I have only one, 

One cluster from the true and living vine, 

One jewel in my Master’s crown to shine. 

Master, my heart is sad; 

A wearied husbandman before thee kneels, 

Through the night-watches, through the live long day, 
My hands essayed to work, my heart to pray, 

Yet now across me steals 
The chilling presage of a coming blight, 

Which of the harvest sunshine pales the light. 

One little sheaf! When I 
Would fain have counted.thousands. Yet, 0 Lord, 

I lay it lovingly upon thy shrine, 

Off ’ring in meekness only what is thine, 

And lo! thy word 

Bids me in this small spark rejoice to see 
A brilliant worthy, King of kings, for thee. 





THE CHURCH. 


One human sheaf! One soul 
Ransomed from sin, from darkness and from tears; 

God deemed my little treasure priceless, when 
His Son to seek it came and dwelt with men, 

And all the starry spheres 
Rang with the glad chorus of the angel host, 

Over the finding of his loved and lost. 

One never-dying soul! 

To live forever in yon world of light, 

To add new lustre to his august name, 

To wreathe another chaplet to his fame ; 

With ever new delight 
To swell the everlasting song of praise 
Which only souls redeemed are skilled to raise. 

Then, Lord, I need not faint, 

Though small my tribute; thy pure eyes can see 
The love which gladly lays it at thy feet, 

And work for Jesus in itself is sweet 
If it is owned by thee. 

Let disappointment crown it, or success, 

Such fellowship as thine alone will bless. 

And so this wintry morn, 

My little sheaf in thankful hands I bring. 

I join the angel bands around thy throne, 

With joy which angels never can have known ; 

Thy praise with them I sing, 

Gladly receive this blessing from thy store, 

And look in active patience np for more. 

Let me but work in faith, 

Not w T eary, though the summer days seem long, 
Watching with care each tender bud and leaf, 

For surely as I bring this little sheaf, 

A joyful harvest song 

Shall glad my spirit with its heav’n-born lays. 

And round the Lord of harvest w r aft his praise. 

— M. E. Winslow, in Churchman. 






















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PART III. 
THE FAMILY 



















THE FAMILY A DIVINE CONSTITUTION. 


REV. N. H. LOOSE, A. M., BELLEVUE, 0. 



“They grew in beauty, side by side, 

They filled one common home with glee, 

Their graves are sundered far and wide, 

By mount, and stream, and sea.” 

FIE FAMILY is a household, including parents and 
children; the collective body of persons who re¬ 
side uuder one roof and are governed by one head, 
the father. It is the foundation of the social edi¬ 
fice, the basis of all the instrumentalities of God 
for the advancement of the great, moral interests 
of man. It is founded upon the wants and neces¬ 
sities of our nature, and is wisely designed to develop and 
cherish those habits and affections on which the happiness 
and welfare of mankind depend. 

The family relation has its origin in God by the creation of 
Adam and Eve, constituting them one in holy marriage, in 
which he declared them joined together in life’s wonderful 
destiny, never to be put asunder by man. Thus constituted, 
the family became the nursery of life for the coming millions 
of the human race. 

The divine origin of the family and of marriage, is thus 
given, as first established in Paradise: u The Lord God said, it is 
not good that man should be alone, I will make an help-meet 
for him.” The needed companion was brought to Adam, wdio 
said, “ This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” God 
designed Eve, as a loving assistant to Adam, whose presence 
and aid should contribute to his happiness and advantage, 
that they might thus be a mutual good and blessing to each 
other. Here an inner oneness, a unity of heart and spirit, 
harmoniously blended. The deepest life of the soul, richly 
flowed together from both in love and true devotion to God. 











THE FAMILY. 


260 

This was of God an internal, spiritual and moral union, pure 
and blessed before sin entered in with its polluting and des¬ 
olating forces of evil, thus despoiling this fairest product of 
Eden’s glory, power and wisdom. 

The divinely constituted marriage was necessitated in the 
mind of God, so that this union was not only proper, but 
necessary, grounding itself in the constitution of human 
nature and the purpose of the Creator. The family, having 
such a divine constitution, is surely a state of wonderful 
sacredness in its origin, and equally wonderful and sacred in 
the far-reaching future of human destiny. Humanly speak¬ 
ing, all destiny of the human race begins in the family, hav¬ 
ing its origin in the creative wisdom and power of God. As 
are the families of a given community, so is the community, 
so the state, the church,and all relations and associations of life. 

The family, being divine in origin, it follows that from its 
peculiar constitution, its government should be from a divine, 
a biblical standpoint. The law to control, should be, as its 
origin, divine. To human thought, love is the highest and 
most essential attribute of God; and love is the deepest and 
the controlling centre of all right family relations allying it 
most to God, and the several members to each other. 

Love is the law that leads to all right relations, to God and 
man. u Thou shalt love the Lord th} r God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first 
and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; 
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Being such a uni¬ 
versal law, it surely has the first place in the family constitu¬ 
tion. In love, the family is built on affinities which are 
natural, not 'artificial; founded upon the eternal nature and 
fitness of being. 

Is the family ordained of God, as a power from on high, 
as is the state in u the powers that be,” then it follows that 
the loose and criminally naturalistic views and practices of 
marriage so prevalent, are entirely antagonistic to the origin, 
design and constitution of the family. The family is a life, a 
procreative and reproductive power at the foundation of all 
civil and religious institutions. With no arrangement of 
family affinities and associations, anarchy and political ruin 
would inevitably follow, and produce a state of moral degra- 


THE FAMILY. 


261 


dation, unknown even among the lowest of human beings; 
for savages have some recognition and form of the family; 
showing in this universal recognition, some intuitive power, 
that directs to such peculiar distinction and relation. 

The law that instituted this primary distinction, setting 
apart in small groups the millions of our race, on principles 
of natural affinities and parental relations, is not an arbitrary 
decree of the Creator, but one that arises out of divine wis¬ 
dom, in all respects adapted to those for whom it is intended, 
if obeyed, leading to the lasting good of all families—the 
whole world. 

The word of God is clear in showing that love in its purity 
is the law of primary importance in the family constitution— 
u Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, 
and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it 
with the washing of water by the word, that he might pre¬ 
sent it to himself a glorious church, not having spot 01 
wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and with¬ 
out blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own 
bodies.” “And the wife see that she reverence her husband.” 
u Likewise ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowl¬ 
edge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel.” 
In all the above, it is very evident, that as the family is 
divine in its origin, so love equally divine, is the law of its 
being. Its constitution in origin and perpetuity is divine. 
Love is the true, the Scriptural bond that unites and contin¬ 
ues its being in all right relations. Without it, no truly 
natural or Scriptural union is effected in the husband and 
wife, nor in the subsequent relations, that nature and years 
bring forth. We speak not for a sickly sentimentalism, too 
often designated love, but for that solid, and lasting affection 
that rests on knowledge, honor, and adaptability, constituting 
true inner congeniality and affinity of soul and body. 

The law of family union, is in its true sense, a lasting one— 
long as life—“ till death do us part; ” yea longer; it lives in 
the immortality of undying affections, which death cannot 
destroy. It lives in the peculiar family feeling of sons and 
daughters for their parents, the parents for them, and they 
for each other. The dearest and tenderest ties here obtain 
during the many and varied circumstances of life, which 


262 


THE FAMILY. 


time and distance -cannot destroy. The everlastingness of 
divinity is impressed upon all the legitimate relations of the 
family. This is in accordance with its divine constitution, 
the law of its origin and of its being; which is as imperish¬ 
able as God, who is love.” 

Being thus divinely constituted,we need not wonder, that the 
most endearing associations of life, centre in the family, and 
that here are cherished the dearest affections and memories 
possible to mortals. Here, too, are the moulding forces of 
undying souls, the beginnings of existences reaching out to 
the endless ages of eternity, influences shaping human des¬ 
tiny forever. 

We are thus brought to see the immeasurable importance 
of the right recognition of the true relation of the family to 
God, the Creator, and that the divine law be faithfully 
accepted as the only rule of home—the Christian home. Let 
the principles of our holy Christianity be cherished with a 
loving reverence for all that is holy, good and true. Let every 
family be a Christian congregation—the church in the house 
—in the living activity of the priesthood of true believers, in 
which the holy offerings from off the family altar shall daily 
arise as incense to the one great Father of our common 
humanity. 



THE HAPPY HOME. 


REV. M. LOUCKS, A. M., DAYTON, OHIO. 


Home is the resort, 

Of love, of joy, of peace and plenty, where, 
Supporting and supported, polished friends, 

And dear relations mingle into bliss.— Thompson . 


UR HIGHEST conception of home-life includes 
everything which will make it a source of blessing 
and joy to every member of the family. The home 
should be a little paradise, in which flow the clear 
streams of love and peace, in which flourish the 
fruits of faith, and in which bloom the flowers of 
hope. The home should be the pleasure garden of every father, 
the shady bower of every mother, and the fairy realm for 
every child. In the happy home must shine the pure sunlight 
of parental virtue and piety, and from it must issue the en¬ 
chanting music of hearts attuned to the praise, and worship of 
God. It must be a place of all others most sacred, to which 
our hopes and affections cling amid the ever-changing scenes 
of our earthly life. Home is not home, unless it is the source 
of true happiness. Happiness is not the child of strife. It is 
not the fruit of unhallowed associations, nor the product of 
the parental despot. Happiness grows not up amid the bramble 
and brier of domestic life. It is not the weed of family strife, 
but is the golden grain of parental love. Happiness does not 
thrive in the burning sands of domestic heat, nor in the frigid 
zones of domestic infidelity. It cannot plant its beauty on the 
hearthstone of family strife, nor can it diffuse its fragrance 
through the chambers of a Christless home. Happiness is the 
flower of peace, and the fruit of faith ; it is the ambrosial air 
of a paradise-life, and the only warmth of unbroken friendship 
and love. A home without happiness is only a place. The 
highest idea of home can only be associated with domestic fel¬ 
icity. Where this is wanting, the true elements of home are 
lost, and man goes wandering in the gloomy caverns of a 









THE FAMILY. 


264 

wretched life, the sun-light has faded and the pale moon is 
veiled in somberness, and the bright stars have lost their glory 
to him who lives amid the clatter and confusion of a cheerless 
home. 

“ Home is the sphere of harmony and peace, 

The spot where angels find a resting place, 

When bearing blessings, they descend to earth.” 

The true object of marriage should be the consummation of a 
happy home. Where this fails, its results are marked with domes¬ 
tic infelicity. Where the highest object of the home is the least 
consideration of the marriage contract, there misery untold, 
unfelt, but not unavoidable, begins. With the true idea of 
home must be associated, all the minute details that make it 
happy. The elements which enter into such a home, are not 
found so much in the possession of gold, as in the rich and ex¬ 
haustless mines of love. The happiness of home is not the 
product of earthly comforts, as much as the result of honest 
hearts and congenial spirits. The embers on the hearthstone 
reflect the joys and comforts of home only in the company of 
those whose hearts beat in sympathy and unison with our own. 
Hence, the home begins to be happy when the gentle goddess 
of love treads softly in every part. The darkness fades and 
clouds disperse in the presence of her majestic form, and then 
upon the clear firmament maybe seen the sweet-faced cherubs 
of a heavenly clime, all smiling gladly over a scene— 

“ Where he enjoys 

With her, who shares his pleasure and his heart, 

Sweet converse.” 

With all that wealth may add to the happiness of home, 
must not be forgotten the rich treasure of religion. True 
fraternal love, will as naturally cherish religion as an essential 
element to home, as the child will love the gentle and carress- 
ing spirit of the parent. In all the rich treasures of earth, 
there is no jewel so rare as religion, and of the ornaments with 
which we might beautify home, there is none to compare with 
it. For, however desirable it may be to dwell in a palatial 
residence, or in princely splendor, these, without the sanctify¬ 
ing and comforting influence of religion, are bereft of their 
magnificence, and deprived of their glory. It is not the pride 
of life, nor the luxuriant surroundings that constitute the 


THE FAMILY. 


265 

happy home. We may possess all these, and then not have 
a happy home. We would, therefore, give prominence to the 
Christian home in its highest possible development. In the 
lowly home at Bethany, we find the true elements of the happy 
family,.where Christ was a frequent and welcome guest. To 
its social and hallowed associations he was gladly welcomed, 
and in its small circle could be felt his divine presence. To it 
he retired when weary and hungry, and here he came when 
no other place was open in Bethany. To it he went as teacher, 
comforter, Savior, and companion. In ignorance he was their 
wisdom, and in sorrow their divine comforter. To this home 
he brought all the consolations of his grace, and into it he 
poured all the wealth of his earthly walks, and from it he 
drew the ministry of his love. This little circle was broken by 
the death of the parents, and now in the still and quiet of life, 
the Savior would make this his pleasure garden. When this 
home-life is again broken by the messenger of death, who 
snatches from these sisters their brother Lazarus, the Savior 
forgets not to come again. He comes when the cloud of sor¬ 
row has just burst, and when the heavens grew darkest, and 
with his omnific voice breaks the shackles of death, and glori¬ 
fies himself as Lord of all. This was the hour of greatest 
gloom and yet into this lowly home flowed a stream of highest 
joy. The happiness of this home was greatest when they min¬ 
gled in the associations of the Savior. To them the Savior was 
the source of joys unspeakable, because he came with all his 
consolations when most needed. 

That scene is but the type of what the Savior is to every 
home. With his advent comes in the halo of heavenly joy, 
with him as a companion and counsellor, life is stripped of 
its thorns, and clouds appear with their silver linings. With 
the holy principles of the Christian religion, comes into the 
home a charm and glory, which worldly fortune cannot pur¬ 
chase. Around him, as the fountain of supreme love may 
gather the loving father, the tender-hearted mother, and the 
silver-voiced children, in the delights of sacred praise. With 
this influence upon the life and character of all within that 
sacred place, the results may be easily measured and the re¬ 
wards are plainly revealed. No home is supremely happy 
without the comforts of religion. 


18 


266 


THE FAMILY. 


Christ still loves to go to the Bethanies where he may find 
loving hearts to appreciate his visits. He it is that mellows 
the affections and purifies the thoughts. He it is that fills the 
heart with purest love, and moulds the life into fairest forms. 
Through his principles he dissipates human sorrow, and gives 
to home the aspirations of the purest life. 

This happy home becomes the holiest retreat to all its mem¬ 
bers. Into it will come all that is intended to carry forward 
the true enjoyment of life. Here will be heard the sweet 
voices of the children, mingling in praise with the parents; 
here will be heard the clear-sounding instruments to cheer 
the heart and feast the mind; here will be gathered the 
thoughts of ages in the volumes of history, literature, science 
and art. Here in this little enclosure called home maybe 
found a sweet foretaste of heavenly joys. How true to our ex¬ 
perience is the sentiment of Young: 


“ The first sure symptoms of a mind in health, 
Is rest of heart, and pleasure felt at home.” 


The happy home is the weary man’s rest, and from this the 
old patriarch looks out toward the land of promise with the 
assurance that he will rest at home. From this paradise of 
earth loom up the everlasting hills, where all will soon be 
gathered with the loved and blest. Then, when ties are broken 
and these familiar forms vanish from our presence, we look 
aloft and see the white-robed messengers bearing them hence 
to rest forever amid the unbroken joys and felicities of the 
everlasting home. 



THE family circle—what it is. 


HE FAMILY circle maybe—ought to be—the most 
charming and delightful place on earth, the center 
of the purest affections and most desirable associa¬ 
tions, as well as the most attractive and exalted 
beauties to be found this side of Paradise. Noth¬ 
ing can exceed in beauty and sublimity the quiet¬ 
ude, peace, harmony, affection, and happiness of a 
well-ordered family, where virtue is nurtured and 
every good principle fostered and sustained. From 
the well-ordered homes in this great broad land of 
religious and civil liberty not only are great and good states¬ 
men to come, and eminently pious and intelligent divines, but 
what is equally important, from these homes must come the 
more common populace of the land, upon whose intelligence, 
patriotism, and purity depends the continuance of the rich 
blessings which are now common to all. If freedom is kept 
and sanctified by the people; if the true spirit of Christianity 
is to be continued, in all its sacred purity, on to our children’s 
children,''even to the latest generations of men, they must be 
kept inviolate in our families and impressed in our homes. 



HOME DEFINED. 


H OME’S not merely four square walls, 

Though with pictures hung and gilded; 
Home is where affection calls. 

Filled with shrines the heart hath builded! 
Home! go watch the faithful dove, 

Sailing ’neath the heaven above us; 

Home is where there’s one to love! 

Home is where there’s one to love us! 













268 


THE FAMILY. 


Home is not merely roof and room, 

It needs something to endear it; 

Home is where the heart can bloom, 

Where there’s some kind lip to cheer it! 

What is home with none to meet, 

None to welcqme, none to greet us? 

Home is sweet,—and only sweet— 

Where there’s one we love to meet us! 

—Charles Swain. 


HOME OF MY CHILDHOOD. 


H OME of my childhood, thou shalt ever be dear, 

To the heart that so fondly revisits thee now ; 
Though thy beauty be gone, thy leaf in the sere, 
The wreaths of the past still cling to thy brow. 

Spirit of mine, why linger ye here ? 

Why cling to those hopes so futile and vain ? 

Go, seek ye a home, in that radiant sphere, 

Which through change, and time, thou shalt ever retain. 


HOME SONGS. 


O H ! sing once more those joy-provoking strains, 

Which, half-forgotten, in my memor } 7 dwell; 

They send the life-blood bounding through my veins, 
And circle round me like an airy spell. 

The songs of home are to the human heart 
Far dearer than the notes that song-birds pour, 

And of our inner nature seem a part; 

Then sing those dear, familiar lays once more— 

Those cheerful lays of other days— 

Oh ! sing those cheerful lays once more.— Anonymous. 

/ 








MARRIAGE—ITS NATURE AND DUTIES. 


REV. A. HENRY, A. M., CANAL WINCHESTER, O. 


IND READER, I am glad to meet you, since we 
are to talk about a subject of great importance— 
an institution existing wherever man is found. 
In the latest and brightest light of our civilization, 
producing the deepest consciousness of the true 
and right, let us talk of this the oldest institution 
among men, at whose shrine the purest and most 
sacred offerings have been laid, save the sacrifices 
at the altar of God. Need I stop to say of our subject that 
it is a divine institution, established under the holy shades of 
the “ Tree of Life ” in beautiful Eden bowers? Yes, such it 
is, based upon the nature, and grounded in the constitution 
of man. Just as every law upon the statute book is enacted 
because of a corresponding fact in human nature. He that 
planted the ear and made sweeter than Aeolian sounds to 
delight it—he who formed the eye and pleasingly satisfies it 
with light, said, u It is not good that man should be alone; 1 
will make him an help-meet for him.” This is the divine 
charter of marriage. And the Savior with the most vivid dis¬ 
tinctness set forth the true spirit inherent in this institution, 
as the inalienable right of those entering therein. While 
God made everything good, man has made many things wrong 
—“sought out many inventions;” and in this connection, 
the wife has often been made the burden-bearer. Her very 
origin bespeaks diviner rights, than have been accorded her. 
“They twain shall be one flesh,” thus making her a “ help-meet” 
in love and labor. Her creation accords her a holier standing, 
than man has given her in the marriage state. Not as man, 
was she created out of the dust of the earth, but from the re¬ 
fined dust of man’s body; not from his head to rule over him, 
nor from his feet to be trodden down, but from his side to be 
his equal—his companion—his help-meet. Being of finer sen- 










THE FAMILY. 


270 

sibilities, she is a refiner, a very queen of grace in the home. 
True marriage is ever refining, drawing the true gold of one’s 
nature to the altar for an offering. It is the soul’s happy 
Eden. 

But marriage is not necessarily an assured happiness; it is 
often the reverse, a sea of misery, troubled waters, a very 
curse. And why ? simply because too many rush into this 
holy estate, as they would invest in a lottery. Ah, just here 
must the greatest care be exercised. The two honest souls 
must act honestly and honorably, and choose where love 
begets love, and u handsome is as handsome does.” In true 
marriage each finds his or her complement in the other—the 
flowing together of two souls, where each the other’s lack, 
doth fully supply, so that there is that true ideal realized: 
“ Two souls with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as 
one.” This I conceive is the divine ideal, as set forth in the 
Scriptures, and acknowledged in that other Scripture of com¬ 
mon sense, where on the altar of a pure heart and a noble 
life, the old confession is felt; “ This is bone of my bone, 
and flesh of my flesh.” Such' a union of hearts is like a 
thrifty tree planted by the river side, ever blooming in 
sweetest fragrance, and yielding richest fruitage to affection’s 
hunger. 

Marriage is not only honorable and called for in the light of 
holy truth, but also in the very bed-rock of the human con¬ 
stitution, there exists a necessity for it, that man in his deepest 
and purest nature may not be u alone.” The holiest and 
truest nature of the race calls for just such an estate, and 
will not be at rest, until such a promised law is entered, and 
its richest vintage obtained. Love is the only true “ Pole 
Star,” in this holy search. It is the voice crying, that must be 
satisfied. But you say u love is blind.” I say it is not so 
blind that you can deceive it. You say, the millions of un¬ 
happy homes prove your assertion. I say they prove my 
position, as other considerations than love were the basis of 
such unhappy union, and though it is blind, you cannot 
deceive it with “hay, wood and stubble,” gaudy apparel, or 
any such things. It is the voice crying in the “ alone ” wilder¬ 
ness, for its mate. Through this, which was meant to be 
true Eden to man, sweeps a devastating flood, born of that 


THE FA3IILY. 


271 


most fruitful curse, “match making,” well named, for the 
fumes and burnings are soon very apparent. Is it not too 
true that just here, many narrow minds have sought out a 
most fiendish invention ? 

In this regard, marriage is only too often shamefully abused, 
and prostituted to a selfish purpose. The match is made for 
convenience, for social standing, for financial advancement, 
and a host of such conditions, as should never be put in the 
balance as weights and measures, where true happiness is 
sought. These marry, and are given in marriage, under the 
law providing, law of expediency. But is this true wedlock ? 
As well might you expect water and oil, poured into a bottle, 
to become one substance. In seeking matrimonial alliances, 
great care should be exercised, so that in the mutual choice, a 
true counterpart may be found. So many are ever on the 
look-out to find a good husband for their daughters, or a good 
wife for their sons, when the great care ought to be to fit the 
daughters to become good wives, and the sons to become good 
husbands, and under proper advice let their personal worth 
find and secure them a true help-meet. The future character 
of the home can usually be predicated from what preceded the 
marriage day. At the marriage of Juno, the gall of the sacri¬ 
ficed animals was cast behind the altar, which said, henceforth 
let there be no root of bitterness between you, only the sacri¬ 
fice of love. This is the same advice given lately by a minis¬ 
ter to a couple he had just married, when he said u Take two 
bears into your home, bear and forbear.” 

If one would have the home an unbroken, happy scene, 
in choosing a life companion, there must be congeniality and 
concord, else how can two walk together unless they be 
agreed. “Be ye not unequally yoked together.” This has 
many sides and need not be dwelt upon. I will only give one 
illustration from life, worthy of being written in letters of 
gold, and hung up in every home. A young lady came from 
across the ocean to marry him to whom she had long been 
engaged. She found him terribly addicted to strong drink. 
He claimed her promise. With a grandeur of nature to be 
admired, she said, I came three thousand miles to marry the 
man I loved, but before I will marry a drunkard, I will retrace 
those miles. She did so. 0 that there were only more to 


THE FAMILY. 


272 

keep their eyes open in choosing life’s partner. If the daugh¬ 
ters of our land were only as morally strong as the above, fewer 
would be the unhappy homes, less the heart aches, and the 
unsatisfied, hungering love, as seen in the very window of the 
soul. The marshalling of the forces assured the victory of 
Sedan. In like manner that which precedes the wedding-day 
is the harbinger of that which succeeds it. If the married 
life is to be a sea of happiness, the fires of the pre-wedding- 
day must be still fed. There must be a continually falling in 
love, and an undying courtship. The duties of husband and 
wife will ever be impressed by the conscience of home. The 
divine ideal sets these forth best in its spirit of “help meet.” 
In this each brings to the new home a lighted torch, uniting 
them there in one of deeper flame, greater light, and brighter 
glow. Ignoring this divine ideal in marriage, begat the law of 
divorce. Entering into the marriage relation for other reasons 
than finding one’s complement, generated that loathsome 
disease of Polygamy. Forgetting that “they twain shall be 
one flesh,” the heathen nations made the wife a mere slave. 
But the divine light scatters the heathen darkness, and raises 
women and wife to their true place* and glory. And the morn 
of that happier day purples the sky, when over all this earth 
man will regard his wife as his equal and help meet, and both 
love, honor, and cherish each other as long as life shall last. 

The following lines embodying A Woman’s Question, will 
close what we have to say on this interesting subject: 

“Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing 
Ever made by the hand above ? 

A woman’s heart, and a woman’s life, 

And a woman’s wonderful love? 


Do you know that you have asked for this priceless thing 
As a child might ask for a toy? 

Demanding what others have died to win, 

With the reckless dash of a boy. 

You have written my lesson of duty out, 

Manlike you have questioned me— 

Now stand at the bar of my woman’s soul 
Until I shall question thee. 


THE FAMILY. 


273 


You require your mutton shall always be hot, 

Your socks and shirts be whole; 

I require your heart to be as true as God’s stars, 

And as pure as heaven your soul. 

You require a cook for your mutton and beef; 

I require a far better thins:; 

A seamstress you’re wanting for stockings and shirts, 
I look for a man and a king. 

A king for the beautiful realm called home, 

And a man that the Maker God, 

Shall look upon as he did the first, 

And say, ‘ It is very good.’ 

I am fair and young, but the rose will fade 
From my soft young cheek one day; 

Will you love me then, ’mid the falling leaves, 

As you did ’mid the bloom of May? 

Is your heart an ocean so strong and deep 
I may launch my all on its tide? 

A loving woman finds heaven or hell 
On the day she is made a bride. 

I require all things that are good and true, 

All things that a man should be; 

If you give this all, I would stake my life 
To be all you demand of me. 

If you cannot do this—a laundress and cook 
You can hire, with little to pay; 

But a woman’s heart and a woman’s life 
Are not to be won that way.” 


WEDDED FOR HEAVEN. 



|EXT TO choosing the Lord Jesus Christ as his 
Savior and guide, the most important choice a 
young man can make is that of a wife. Yet this 
most eventful step is too often regarded from first 
to last in the most trivial aspect. With many it 
is the merest matter of fancy, or boyish caprice. 
Sometimes a wife is sought for the sole gratifica¬ 
tion of sensual appetite. Sometimes marriage is 
viewed entirely as a shrewd pecuniary speculation. Indolent, 
extravagant young men often intrigue through a marriage- 
vow for a wealth, which they are too lazy or too thriftless to 
earn by honest toil. On the other hand, many an ambitious 
parent has sought to purchase a splendid “establishment” 
with the sweetest charms, that Heaven has bestowed upon a 
daughter. What baser bargain can be consummated ? And 
when a woman consents to sell her person wdthout her heart 
to a rich suitor, what is it but the essence of prostitution with¬ 
out its loathsome name ? Only one man should be rich enough 
to win my daughter: it is he, who can offer a love without a 
rival, and a character without a stain. True religion, common 
sense, industrious habits, and a warm heart—when a young 
man can offer these , no daughter who is worthy of such a prize 
will be likely to “ say him nayP 

With what a rash recklessness do millions rush into the 
momentous engagements that yield their inevitable retribu¬ 
tion of domestic misery! How few seek by prayer for Divine 
guidance when choosing the companion of their heart, their 
home, and their destiny! Far oftener, we fear, is it passion 
than prayer that controls this great decision. The gratifica¬ 
tion of a fancy, the excitement of a courtship, and the frolic 
of a wedding are frequently the only preparations for the 
serious realities of wedded life. 

Boyish caprice and girlish romance look vastly different in 
human eyes when they have crystallized down into the per- 









THE FAMILY. 


275 

manent forms of daily existence under the same roof, at the 
same table and fireside, year in and year out, for summer and 
winter, for sickness or health, for better or worse, clear on to 
the doorway of the tomb. When the novelty of wedded life 
has worn away, and perhaps the beauty of the fair face that 
inspired the early passion has quite faded out, then there must 
be something solid left behind, or marriage is a mockery and 
its coveted happiness but a dream. There must be mutual 
confidence, mutual respect, unity of aim, and old-fashioned 
love; .there ought to be also a union of hearts in the love of 
Christ, in closet devotions and at the communion-table. When 
these are the qualities of a nuptial union, it is a marriage in 
the Lord. It u shineth more and more” from the auroral 
dawn of first love unto the perfect day of rich and ripened 
bliss. When young hearts are wedded in Christ, they are 
wedded for heaven. It is a delightful act for a Christian min¬ 
ister to join such hearts and hands together; but the words 
sometimes stick in his throat when he attempts to pronounce 
a benediction on a marriage which neither common sense nor 
conscience have had a share in bringing about. His fee seems 
to come out of Judas’s bag. 

The admirable Philip Henry, of Broad Oaks, England, 
sought the hand of an only daughter in a somewhat promin¬ 
ent family. Her father said to her, “This young man seems 
to be an excellent preacher, but 1 do not know whence he 
came. u True,” replied the daughter; “ but I know where he 
is going , and I want to go along with him.” The marriage 
proved eminently happy, and one of the children was the 
famous commentator. When his own son Matthew and his 
daughters asked his consent to their marriage, he said, u Please 
God, and please yourselves, and then you will be sure to 
please me.” At their weddings he saluted them with a 
fatherly kiss, and said, “ Other people wish you much happi¬ 
ness, but I wish you much holiness: if you have that, you 
are certain to be happy.” 

No two steps in a man’s life are so solemn as those which 
join him to Christ’s church, and join him to a wife. Marriage 
is an ordinance of God. It has often proved a “ saving ordi¬ 
nance ” to those who had no other tie to Christianity. The 
men whom a wise marriage has saved (with God’s blessing) 


THE FAMILY. 


276 

are innumerable. The men whom a reckless, wretched mar¬ 
riage have ruined—are their histories not written in the a Book 
of the Chronicles” of prayerless homes and impenitent death¬ 
beds? 

“ Rebekah,” said a dying husband to the wife who bent over 
him in remorseful agony,— u Rebekah, I am a lost man. You 
opposed our family worship and my secret prayer. You drew 
me away into temptation, and to neglect every religious duty. 
I believe my fate is sealed. Rebekah, you are the cause of 
my everlasting ruin.” Terrible in eternity will be the reunion 
of those who helped each other on the downward road, part¬ 
ners in impiety, and wedded for perdition. 

On the other hand, many a man has owed his conversion to 
the steadfast, noble, attractive godliness of a praying wife. 
u I never doubted the immediate answer of prayer since the 
conversion of my husband,” said a devoted Christian once to 
her pastor. He had long been a stranger to God, and bitter 
in his opposition to the Gospel. During a powerful revival in 
her church she attended a morning prayer-meeting. This 
annoyed him, and he denounced it as a waste of time, and 
forbade her to go again. Next morning she came down with 
her bonnet on to go to the meeting. He sternly said, u If you 
do dare to go, you will be sorry for it.” She could not speak; 
the rudeness of her husband crushed her into silence. But 
she determined not to retreat; and when she reached the 
meeting she could only bow her face on the desk before her, 
and pour forth her tears and prayers for the obdurate heart 
she had left behind her. There was certainly one praying 
woman in that gathering. 

When evening came, the kind wife put away the children in 
the crib, took her needle, and sat down by the fire. Presently 
the husband came in. “ Wife, are you not going to meeting 
to-night ? ” u No,” she replied gently, u I thought I would stay 
home with you.” He sat awhile in guilty silence; the fire 
burned brightly in the grate, and a hotter fire burned in the 
poor fellow’s heart. “Wife,” he exclaimed, u I can’t stand 
this any longer. The words I spoke this morning to you have 
tormented me all day. I can’t get any peace till you have 
forgiven me and prayed for me. Won’t you pray for me? Oh, 
what a life I have led!” They knelt together. u That night 


THE FAMILY. 


277 > 

I shall remember through eternity,” said the happy woman, 
afterward. u There was no sleep for us. Before the dawn of 
day peace dawned into his soul; we went to the morning 
meeting together, and he rose and confessed Jesus as his 
Redeemer.” That man walked faithfully with God ever after: 
from that memorable day they two were wedded for heaven. 

Happy are those who, like Aquila and Priscilla, are united 
i^ the Lord ! Happy are they who walk the life-journey,—all 
the safer and all the happier for walking it hand in hand, 
keeping step to the voice of duty and of God. Wedded in 
time, they are wedded for heaven; and will sit down together, 
with exquisite rapture, at the “ marriage-supper of the Lamb.” 

— Theodore L. Cuyler. 


DIVORCES. 



REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


EW PERSONS have any correct idea of the fre¬ 
quency of divorces all over our land. The evil is 
not only great, but seems to be on the increase, so 
that it is high time the facts in the case be made 
emsfi known, so that a correct moral sentiment may be 
formed on the subject. The Rev. S. R. Dike, sec¬ 
retary of the New England Divorce Reform 
League, has given special attention to the subject, 
and makes the following startling statements respecting sev¬ 
eral of the New England States, where we might expect to 
find the best exhibit of good social order: 

44 The whole number of divorces in Connecticut were, in 1849 
only ninety-one, and now the average is about four hundred 
and forty in each year, showing that, while the increase of 
population in that state in the last thirty years is less than 
seventy per cent., the increase of divorces is almost five hun¬ 
dred per cent. The ratio of divorces to marriages in Connec¬ 
ticut is at the rate of one divorce to about ten marriages; and 













278 


THE FAMILY. 


the same ratio is found to exist in Rhode Island. In New 
Hampshire the ratio is one divorce for every nine marriages ; 
and in Maine nearly the same proportion of divorces exists. 
Vermont presents better figures, where the ratio is as one to 
thirteen, and Massachusetts is still better, where the ratio is 
that of one divorce to every twenty-one marriages.” 

These are surely sad statements, and give evidence of the 
low views that are abroad in reference to the subject of mar¬ 
riage. Too many enter the marriage relation with no proper 
ideas of its sacredness, and are therefore ready to apply for a 
divorce as soon as any particular trouble arises, adopting 
the false notion of Dryden, as expressed in the following 
lines : 

“ Why should a foolish marriage vow, 

Which long ago was made, 

Oblige us to each other now 
When passion is decayed ? 

We liv’d and we lov’d as long as we could 
Till our love was lov’d out in us both, 

But our marriage is dead when the pleasure is fled— 
’Twas pleasure first made it an oath.” 

That any one should regard the marriage vow binding, only 
so long as things go well, and as right to be broken whenever 
the parties, who pledged themselves on entering the relation 
to live together as faithful partners until separated by death, 
feel disposed to apply for a divorce, is not only indicative of 
low views on the subject, but presents a gloomy picture of the 
future of our country, as the sanctity of the marriage relation 
must ever be regarded as one of the strong pillars on which the 
safety of our republic rests. Break this down and the door is 
thereby opened for a host of evils to enter, the end of which 
is not easy to be seen. Hence, it becomes the imperative duty 
of all who desire the maintenance of morality and religion to 
speak out on the subject, and use what influence they have to 
correct the evil, which has spread with great rapidity. The 
following remarks bear so directly on the subject, that we give 
the reader the benefit of them : 

u The social fabric in this country and in every other well- 
ordered country rests upon the family as the elementary insti¬ 
tution of the whole system, and the family has its basis in 


THE FAMILY. 


279 

marriage. The facts most abundantly show that monogamy 
is the only safe theory as to marriage; and, hence, in all 
Christian countries, and even in some heathen countries, 
polygamy is forbidden by law. The law, while recogniz¬ 
ing that marriage is in the first instance founded on con¬ 
tract, also makes the married relation a social and civil 
status , which permanently attaches to the parties as the 
basis of rights and duties, and which, having entered into it, 
they cannot dissolve and destroy at their option. They can 
by contract bring themselves into this relation ; but they can¬ 
not absolve themselves from it at their pleasure. The parties 
in all ordinary contracts may terminate them when they 
please; but the law says, and correctly says that the marriage 
contract shall not be dependent merely upon the will of the 
parties. It says to both that the relation once entered into by 
their mutual choice shall be for life, except in those special 
cases which require and justify a sundering of the marriage 
tie by the same authority that declaims its permanency. These 
legal provisions are designed to make marriage what God in¬ 
tended it should be, and what the best interests of society de¬ 
mand that it should be—the foundation and source of the 
family. A community made up of families based on monog¬ 
amy supplies the first condition of its own happiness and 
general good. 

Now, just in proportion as divorces come in to disturb this 
order and break up this arrangement, the power of the family 
to bless society is impaired. Such a ratio of divorces to mar¬ 
riages as that which exists in Connecticut, Maine, and New 
Hampshire, and, indeed, in all the New England States, shows 
a sad state of things in the family. One marriage in every 
ten ending in a divorce is not the marriage that accords with 
the design of God, or that is consistent with the best interests 
of society. The question concerns the whole community, and 
not simply the parties who are divorced. Either the divorce 
law is wrong, or it is not properly administered ; and in either 
case the evil is of so grave a character that a remedy should 
be found. Generally speaking the divorce laws of the States 
are far too 1-ax as to the causes for which divorces may be had ; 
and these laws, are made still worse by*the careless manner in 
which courts grant divorce decrees. Add to this the fact that 


280 


THE FAMILY. 


the legislation of the different States is very far from present¬ 
ing any uniform rule on this subject. There is manifestly the 
most abundant occasion to deplore the evil and wish it were 
otherwise.” 


OUR LAMBS. 


X LOVED them so 

I That when the Elder Shepherd of the fold 
X Came, covered with the storm, and pale, and cold, 
And begged for one of my sweet lambs to hold, 

. I bade him go. 

He claimed the pet, 

A little fondling thing, that to my breast 
Clung always, either in quiet or unrest— 

I thought of all my lambs I loved him best, 

And yet—and yet— 

I laid him down 

In those white shrouded arms, with bitter tears : 

For some voice told me that, in after years, 

He should know naught of passion, grief, or fears, 

As I had known. 

And yet again 

That Elder Shepherd came—my heart grew faint, 

He claimed another lamb, with sadder plaint, 
Another: She, who gentle as a saint, 

Ne’er gave me pain. 

Aghast, I turned away. 

There sat she, lovely as an angel’s dream, 

Her golden locks with sunlight all agleam, 

Her holy eyes, with heaven in their beam. 

I knelt to pray 

Is it thy will? 

My Father, say, must this pet lamb be given? 

Oh ! thou hast many such in heaven. 

And a soft voice said: “ Nobly hast thou striven. 

But, peace, be still.” 





THE FAMILY. 


Oh, how I wept, 

And clasped her to my bosom, with a wild 
And yearning love—my lamb, my pleasant child. 
Her, too, I gave. The angel smiled, 

And slept. 

Go! go! I cried : 

For once again that Shepherd laid his hand 
Upon the noblest of our household band, 

Like a pale spectre, there he took his stand, 

Close to his side. 

And yet how wondrous sweet 
The look with which he heard my passionate cry : 

“ Touch not my lamb; for him, oh ! let me die !” 
“A little while,” he said with smile and sigh, 

“ Again to meet.” 

Hopeless I fell: 

And when I rose, the light had burned so low, 

So faint, I could not see my darling go; 

He had not bidden me farewell, but, oh, 

I felt farewell. 

More deeply far 

Than if my arms had compassed that slight frame, 
Though could I but have heard him call my name— 
“ Dear mother! ”—but in heaven 'twill be the same. 
There burns my star! 

He will not take 

Another lamb, I thought, for only one 
Of the dear fold is spared to be my sun, 

My guide, my mourner when this life is done. 

My heart would break. 

Oh! with what thrill 
I heard him enter; but I did not know 
(For it was dark) that he had robbed me so, 

The idol of my soul—he could not go, 

Heart! be still! 

Came morning, can I tell 
How this poor frame its sorrowful tenant kept? 

For waking, tears are mine; I sleeping, wept, 

And days, months, years, that weary vigil kept. 
Alas! “Farewell.” 


282 


THE FAMILY. 


How often it is said ! 

I sit and think, and wonder, too, some time, 

How it will seem, when in that happier clime, 

It never will ring out like funeral chime 
Over the dead. 

No tears! no tears! 

Will there a day come that I shall not weep ? 

For I bedew my pillow in my sleep. 

Yes, yes, thank God ! no grief that clime shall keep, 
No weary years. 

Ay! it is well. 

Well, with my lambs, and with their earthly guide. 
There, pleasant rivers wander they beside, 

Or strike sweet harps upon its silver tide. 

Ay ! it is well. 

Through the dreary day 
They often come from glorious light to me : 

I cannot feel their touch, their faces see, 

Yet my soul whispers, they do come to me. 

Heaven is not far away. 


CRADLE HYMN. 


Watt’s “Cradle Hymn ” has been read and sung by many a fond 
mother, as she has rocked her babe asleep, and will, in the future as in 
the past hold the place it has had in the family, being one of those 
hymns that will never wear out: 

Soft and easy is thy cradle; 

Coarse and hard thy Savior lay, 

When his birth-place was a stable, 

And his softest bed was hay. 

Blessed babe; what glorious features, 

Spotless, fair, divinely bright; 

Must he dwell with brutal creatures; 

How could angels bear the sight. 





THE FAMILY. 


283 


Was there nothing but a manger, 
Cursed sinners could afford, 

To receive the heavenly stranger ? 
Did they thus affront the Lord ? 

Lo ! He slumbers in the manger, 
Where the horned oxen bed ; 

Peace, my darling, here’s no danger, 
There’s no oxen near thy bed. 


A CHILD’S PRAYER. 


( A OD bless my father and my mother, 

My little sister and my brother, 

T And God bless all our land and sea, 
Both sick and well, and God bless me. 
And may the loving angels keep 
Their wings around me while I sleep, 

That I may rise at morning light, 

To do what’s pleasing in my sight, 

And now I lay me down to rest— 

Like a tired bird within its nest. 


THE CHILDREN. 


J HEN the lessons and tasks are all ended, 
And the school for the day is dismissed, 
And the little ones gather around me, 

To bid me good-night and be kissed; 

Oh, the little white arms that encircle 
My neck in a tender embrace ! 

Oh, the smiles that are halos of heaven, 
Shedding sunshine of love on the face ! 


And when they are gone I sit dreaming 
Of my childhood too lovely to last; 

Of love that my heart will remember, 
When it wakes to the pulse of the past, 

Ere the world and its wickedness made me 
A partner of sorrow and sin; 

When the glory of God was about me, 

And the glory of gladness within. 










THE FAMILY. 


Oh! my heart grows weak as a woman’s, 
And the fountain of feeling will flow, 

When I think of the paths steep and stony, 
Where the feet of the dear ones must go; 
Of the mountains of sin hanging o’er them, 
Of the tempest of fate blowing wild; 

Oh ! there is nothing on earth half so holy, 
As the innocent heart of a child. 


They are idols of hearts and of households; 
They are angels of God in disguise; 

His sunlight still sleeps in their tresses, 

His glory still gleams in their eyes; 

Oh, these truants from home and from heaven 
They have made me more manly and mild, 
And I know how Jesus could liken 
The kingdom of God to a child. 


I ask not a life for the dear ones, 

All radiant, as others have done, 

But that life may have enough shadow, 

To temper the glare of the sun ; 

I would pray God to guard them from evil, 
But my prayer would come back to myself; 
Ah, a seraph may pray for a sinner, 

But a sinner must pray for himself. 


The twig is so easily bended, 

I have banished the rule and the rod; 

I have taught them the goodness of knowledge, 
They have taught me the goodness of God; 

My heart is a dungeon of darkness, 

Where I shut them from breaking a rule; 

My frown is-sufficient correction ; 

My love is the law of the school. 


I shall leave the old house in the autumn, 

To traverse its threshold no more; 

Ah, how I shall sigh for the dear ones, 

That meet me each morn at the door, 

I shall miss the “ good-nights ” and the kisses, 
And the gush of their innocent glee, 

The group on the green, and the flowers 
That are brought every morning to me. 



THE FAMILY. 


285 


I shall miss them at morn and evening, 
Their song in the school and the street; 

I shall miss the low hum of their voices, 
And the tramp of their delicate feet. 

When the lessons and tasks are all ended, 
And death says, “ The school is dismissed/’ 
May the little ones gather around me, 

To bid me good-night and be kissed. 


BOYS. 


REV. SCOTT F. HERSHEY, PH. D., LANCASTER, 0. 


OYHOOD IN life is like spring-time in nature. It 
is the time for the healthful sunshine, and the 
refreshing shower. It is the time for seed-sowing. 
The Summer for busy growth is approaching, 
to be closely followed by the fruitage season. 
Somehow, there is a close connection between the 
seed and the harvest—for both are the same in 
character. And, somehow, boyhood is closely rela¬ 
ted to manhood—runs into it. The ways of boyhood deter¬ 
mine the settled purposes of manhood. The hopes of boyhood 
ought to reach into the purposes of manhood. The purposes 
of manhood comprehend and embrace the habits of boyhood. 

There is a touching Scripture incident I want the boys to 
ponder over. When Christ was a boy of only twelve years 
of age, his parents took him with them to worship, which is a 
sermon for parents to-day. It was the great passover feast 
that was to be celebrated. When the day for departure came, 
his parents thought Christ was with some relatives, going the 
same road. At the end of a day’s journey they discovered he 
was left behind. Returning, they searched for that boy three 
days among the multitude of that great city. They did not 
find him on the Jerusalem common playing with the town boys, 
nor lounging in the streets, nor in the places of boyish amuse¬ 
ments, nor on the places of vice where seductive temptations 












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286 

poison the minds of boys, by first veiling their hearts. But 
they did find him in the Temple talking with the wise men of 
the Church ; asking them questions, - and explaining the Scrip¬ 
tures of God. In explanation to his mother, he simply said 
that he must be about his Heavenly Father’s business. 

There are three things that boys ought to learn from this. 
First—That these are the first recorded words of Christ, and, 
as such they are prophetical, and enable us to decide what his 
whole after life would be—always about his F a tiler’s work. The 
man may be seen in the boy. The child is father of the man. 
We can foretell the man of honor and principle from the child 
of honesty and truthfulness. The habits and thoughts of the 
child determine the life and character of the man. Charles * 
Kingsley, when a boy, sat of evenings, on the steps of his 
mother’s cabin and listened to her as she sang the old.English 
bards, and, when a man, he became one of England’s sweetest 
poets. John Randolph said to a friend, U I should have been 
an Atheist, but for the recollection of how my mother used to 
take my little hand in hers, and cause me on my knees, 
to say, 1 Our Father, which art in Heaven.’ ” The good man 
must begin with the good boy, just as heaven must begin on 
earth. 

A second thought on this is, that instruction in divine truth 
is a necessary preparation for service in divine work. The 
Roman youth were schooled in Roman law, that they might 
become good citizens. The German youth were trained in 
military law, that they might become good soldiers. It is im¬ 
possible to know what God’s work is, or how to do it, without 
being instructed in God’s law. The boy that carefully reads 
the Bible, is sure to be a busy workman in the Lord’s vineyard. 
William E. Dodge, began the daily reading of the Bible at twelve 
and, from a poor boy, left this earth the grandest Christian 
business man of the land. The Bible equips life with powers, 
of which the boy who does not read it, must do without, and 
enter the strife at a great disadvantage. 

A third lesson which -we may learn from this incident is, the 
need of boys beginning Christian life as early as possible. If 
religion is to become the education and habit of life, it must 
be established in the heart in childhood. Solomon’s experi¬ 
ence is worth something to every boy, and he says we should 


THE FAMILY. 


287 

remember God in youth. During these years of boyhood, the 
character may be so blackened and defiled with hideous scars, 
that no fair, or virtuous line can ever after be traced. The boy 
who, like Christ, gives himself over to God’s ways, will have 
the angel of truth to write in his heart with the pen of divine 
love, the poem of virtue, and joy. 

Boys, I want a five minutes talk with you in these pages. 
Life is before, full of promises of succes,victory and joy; but 
it is also full of dangers, evils, and trouble. Howto get just 
as much of the fragrance of the rose as possible, and as little 
of the stick of the thorn, is what you want. The greatest 
possible success, and the least possible failure, is your prayer 
to every friend who would give advice. 

Boys, resolve always to be industrious. An indolent boy 
will make a lazy man. The boy who has nothing to do, and 
no one to help him do it, is a kind of a lost dog; there is no 
welcome place for him. Life is full of work, it is also full of 
promise for the boy who works. 

Boys of honesty become men of principle. Repudiate the 
old saying, u honesty is the best policy; ” it is the subterfuge of 
lies. Honesty is not policy at all, it is principle. A boy that 
is honest from principle, has within his character the pure 
gold of right. Remember, that to be poor, is more frequently 
a blessing than a misfortune. The splendid blaze of genius 
that has lit up the halls of civilization with the beneficent 
light of discovery, invention, and progress, was touched 
to life by those who came from the hut, the shop, and the 
factory. The discoverer of a new world must beg money 
through an old world to undertake his feat. A canal-boy 
becomes a President. A German boy gathering fagots in the 
Thuringian forests for a penny a bundle, becomes the Luther 
who orders Europe to turn half way round to see the God of its 
corrupted faith. The man who mauled-slavery to pieces first 
mauled rails. J. G. Whittier was a shoemaker. George 
Whitfield worked at scrubbing the floor of an English inn. 
The Bible has propounded this question, “ hath God not chosen 
the poor of this world.” It looks like it. Poverty compels 
energy. Poverty calls out the resources of talent. If you are 
poor, take it as a providence from the Lord. Set yourself to 
work somewhere in the busy workshop of the world, and the 


288 THE FAMILY. 

day will come when you will be grateful for an humble 
origin. 

In this land it is a blessing for a boy to grow up in the 
country. The painting of the Summer scene over the hills, 
and fields, and through the woods; the chirp of the blue-bird, 
the song of the robin, and tender whistle of the partridge; the 
smell of the new ploughed ground, and of the new mown 
grass; the rare beauty of the autumn months, with the 
sombre air of the Indian Summer, the weird music of the 
falling leaf, and the glad colors and odors of the orchard—the 
best months of all the year; all contribute to make the whole 
life of the farmer-boy an advantage over that of the town-boy. 

Boys, wherever you are, or however situated, take courage; 
work hard and well; read good books ; think pure thoughts ; 
love honest deeds, and honest men; hate the bad; shun 
the evil; be kind, gentle, and push on to manhood’s noble 
purpose. In the book of faithful endeavor write the record 
of your deeds; and life will be a success, death will be a price, 
and heaven will be a home. 

“Whatever be thy profession, 

Whatever thv hands may employ, 

Start out with life’s foremost procession, 

For your chance is as good as is any; 

And be true to your boyhood, my boy,” 


ADVICE TO BOYS. 


HENRY LEONARD, BASIL, OHIO. 


HAVE many things I would like to say to the 
boys. When I say boys, I mean large and small, 
those that can read and those that can not, but 
who have ears to hear their father and mother, 
brother and sister read this. I hope this book may 
be placed in the hands of many of the young and 
prove a lasting benefit to them. Having passed 
through the period of boyhood and middle life and having 
crossed the line of three score and eleven years, and traveled 










THE FAMILY. 


289 


over ninety-five thousand miles, I feel like contributing my 
mite, and leaving on record my testimony and advice to the 
u boys.” 

My first advice to boys is, honor and respect your parents. 
I know children are sometimes inclined to think that their 
parents are too strict and that they have not as much liberty 
as some other boys have. Never mind that; when you get 
older you will see what you failed to see when you were a 
boy. No boy can expect to succeed and get along well in the 
world, who does not respect and obey his parents. Your father 
and mother are very near to you and have done more for you 
than anyone else. They watched over you in your infancy 
and childhood, fed and clothed you, and had many anxieties 
about you. You can never repay them for all they have done 
for you. It is your duty to honor and respect them and do 
all you can to make their old age comfortable. This is Bible 
doctrine. 

In the next place, be kind to your brothers and sisters. If 
you are always kind and loving to them you can hereafter look 
back with pleasure to the good times you had when you were 
all at home under the parental roof. 

Third, make good use of your time while you are young— 
be useful and industrious. Read good books. Be sure and lay 
a good foundation to build on, so that when you start for your¬ 
self in your life’s work, your super-structure may be founded 
on a solid basis. 

Fourth, be polite and treat everybody with respect, especi¬ 
ally old people. When I was a boy I always loved to be in 
company with old people. If you find persons, who are not as 
well educated as you are, do not make fun or laugh at them, 
but be respectful to them. 

Fifth, guard against idleness. It is a harsh saying, but only 
too true, that “An idle brain is the Devil’s workshop.” 

Sixth, avoid profane swearing. This is not only a sinful and 
wicked habit, but one of the poorest paying habits. What, I 
would ask, does the profane swearer receive for his wages ? He 
has been spoken of by some one as “bitingat a naked hook.” 

Seventh, avoid also Sabbath desecration, lying and stealing. 
These are an abomination in the sight of God, and a violation 
of the third, fourth, eighth and ninth commandments. I 


290 


THE FAMILY. 


once received a letter from a penitent, conscience-smitten 
young man, who wrote as follows: “Bro. H., when I was a 
small boy, I was in the habit of coming with my father to your 
store, and would slip behind the counter, and I stole little 
things which, I think, would amount to about two dollars. I 
am very sorry, and I want to pay you and ask your forgive¬ 
ness. I cheerfully granted his request, but I refused to take 
the two dollars as the poor soul had remorse of conscience 
enough. Boys be honest. No doubt it was hard for this young 
man to muster courage to unload his burden, but by the grace 
of God he was enabled to overcome his shame. I have no 
doubt he asked the Lord to forgive him, but it seemed that he 
was not satisfied until he offered to make restitution. 

My young friends, I have another matter to present to you, 
and I do this in all kindness: I would most earnestly advise 
you never chew nor smoke tobacco. You may, it is true, justify 
yourselves by saying, “ Many good people indulge in this luxury 
and why should we be forbidden?” Now I am not going to 
lecture nor find fault with good old people,who chew and smoke, 
for I, too, once used tobacco. First I smoked, then I began 
to chew. Like many otheis, I thought I had a good excuse, 
which was toothache. But that excuse was not worth much. 
One thing more on this point. Ask your father, who is a 
chewer, “Father would you now advise me to smoke and chew, 
as you have tried it?” He would say: “Son, I tell you as 
an honest father and well-wisher of my children, let it alone.” 
Your father would also likely say: “Son, if I had to begin life 
again I would suffer a few teeth to be pulled out before I 
would enslave myself for life as I have done with tobacco.” 
Once more, there is still a greater evil than the use of tobacco, 
and that is the habit of using intoxicating drinks. Now I 
know what I am talking about. I have lived long enough to 
see the tendency of the modest use of liquor. We have all 
seen the danger. Boys leave it alone, do not tamper with it 
and it will never “ bite you.” You must not supjiose because 
some respectable men visit saloons that you may do the same 
thing and suffer no harm. You can easily see what all earnest 
Christians think of this evil. The only safe rule is to let all 
intoxicating drinks alone as a beverage, no matter what the 
examples of others may be. The Christian people of our land 


THE FAMILY. 


291 


have their eyes opened on this drinking and tippling question, 
as is evident from the fact that all the evangelical bodies in 
their ecclesiastical meetings speak out in reference to this evil. 

Boys there is another bad habit which is street education. 
Here it is where you will find bad company. Keep away from 
it. Then, again, be economical, saving and industrious. “ A 
penny saved is equal to a penny made.” If a boy as soon as 
he earns a quarter goes and hunts up a comrade and spends 
it, he will never accumulate anything. Keep your money for 
something useful. I could tell you some facts how boys began 
life with a small sum and finally accumulated enough to 
enter into large enterprises. 

In conclusion, I would say do not forget the one thing need¬ 
ful, which is to seek the Kingdom of God and an eternal home 
in Heaven. Be a true believer in the Christian religion. Make 
an early start; unite with the church and be a faithful Sunday 
school scholar. Some boys grow too big for Sunday school; 
don’t be one of that kind. Read your Bible and never let it 
be said of you, u he is a backslider,” but be an example to 
others of virtue and integrity. 









THE YOUNG LADY AND MORAL REFORM. 


REV. M. LOUCKS, A. M., DAYTON, OHIO. 


“ Men’s due deserts each reader may recite, 

For men of men do make a godly show, 

But women’s works can never come to light; 

No mortal man their famous acts may know; 

No writer will a little time bestow. 

The worthy acts of women to repeat; 

Though their renown and their deserts be great.” 

HE TIME was when woman was a slave, but she 
is now emancipated, and become a queen. During 
the despotic reign of superstition, and idolatry, the 
highest estimate placed upon woman, was that of 
man’s servant to do his bidding. The gradual ad¬ 
vancement of Christian principles has wrought a 
marvelous changeas to the position which woman occupies in 
the world. 

Interesting, as it might be, to trace the history of her eman¬ 
cipation, we are gratified to know that, to-day, she occupies 
the most queenly position. In no preceding age have the refin¬ 
ing influence and the subduing power of woman been so for¬ 
cibly felt, as in the present. To her man may well ascribe the 
highest position of intellectual and moral greatness, and with 
Milton we exclaim,— 

O, fairest of creation, last and best 

Of all God’s works, creature in whom excell’d 

Whatever can to sight or thought be form’d, 

Holy, divine, good, amiable, or sweet! 

At no time has the world needed the gentle influence of 
woman more than at present, which makes it proper to refer to 
the young lady’s partin moral and religious reform. In all the 
reforms of the past, the tender-hearted, loving, and noble- 
minded women, gave shape and destiny to many lives. There 
is no place where the mild and gentle nature of woman has 
not cast a halo of joy and peace. There is no condition of 











THE FAMILY. 


293 

society where her influence is not felt, and where her virtues 
are not appreciated. The position of the young lady in soci¬ 
ety and the home, is that of a queen upon the throne. Before 
her pure life gather kings and princes, with earth’s greatest 
intellects, and brightest geniuses. Before her bow the poet, 
philosopher, scientist, the artist, and the scholar. In her pres¬ 
ence we find all the noblest and best of earth, because from 
that fountain they gather the spirit of a higher ambition and 
a purer life. To her are drawn all classes of high-aspiring 
men, because through her life they see the rainbow tints of a 
happy future, and of coming joys. 

As the young lady, therefore, wields a power in the domes¬ 
tic and social circle, which wins and facinates the young man, 
either for good or evil, we must not ignore the fact that, here 
lies the secret of a great moral reform. The more tender in 
all her acts than man, has placed her before him as a moral 
and religious example, and, from that heart, so full of anxious 
concern for the welfare of the dearest object on earth goes 
forth a silent, unseen, yet unremitting stream of love, which 
holds in bounds the most daring masculine spirit. This moral 
force which eminates from her pure life, gives new and higher 
aims to sluggish and inactive minds, and oft-times, through 
words kindly spoken by the tender wife, or faithful sister, or 
cherished companion, lives are saved from moral wretchedness 
and sin. Spencer says :— 

Ye gentle ladies! in whose sovereign power 
Love hath the glory of his kingdom left, 

And the hearts of men, as your eternal dower, 

In iron chains of liberty bereft. 

Delivered hath unto your hands by gifts— 

Be well aware how you the same do use, 

That pride do not to tyrrany you lift, 

Lest if man you of cruelty accuse— 

He from you take that chiefdom which ye do abuse. 

The true glory of the young body is a spotless character. 
The highest distinction to which she may attain, is to impress 
this character on man in her social and religious life. The 
great work of the young lady lies not so much in the highest 
accomplishments of music and education, as in the moral influ- 


THE FAMILY. 


394 

ence of a pure life, which controls and subdues the more fixed 
purposes in man. Hence, the subject of moral reform lies 
largely with the women of our land, and, especially, with the 
young ladies. The number of men past reform can be counted 
by the thousand. And as there are, annually, thousands more 
going to a drunkard’s grave, it becomes a serious question, how 
shall the young men, who have not yet fallen, be kept from 
the ravages of intemperance ? How shall those who are yet 
pure be preserved from the debasing influence of sin and 
be made a moral and religious power? How shall the char¬ 
acters yet unblemished, the hearts yet untainted, and the lips 
yet unstained by intemperate habits, be preserved in their 
purity ? 

We are aware that many reforms are being resorted to, 
which will accomplish good in their own way. Hence, we 
should not undervalue the power and influence of the young 
lady of pure life, and unchallenged character. The force of 
the young lady’s character, in whose society young men move, 
either makes them stronger or weaker. Young ladies of good 
character, and unquestioned virtue, and piety, hold a steady, 
moral sway over their associates. By their frown upon the 
intemperate young man, they may mould his mind and influ¬ 
ence his heart to be true to himself, as well as to his 
companion. 

By the gentle and amiable disposition of her nature, the 
young lady may become the means of controlling all the noble 
qualities in her associate, and thus direct his energies, and 
turn his affections in the channel of virtue and temperance. 
Shakspeare says:— 

“ In her youth 

There is a prone and speechless dialect, 

Such as moves men.” 

This natural power which woman wields over the strong and 
fixed convictions of men, is marvelous ; and yet, through this 
channel, great conquests have been gained. Milton says 
of this:— 

Many are in each region passing fair 
As the noon-sky; more like to goddesses 
Than mortal creature, graceful and discreet, 

Except inam’rous arts, enchanting tongues 


THE FAMILY. 


295 


Persuasive, virgin majesty, with mild 
And sweet allay’d, yet terrible t’ approach, 

Skill’d to retire, and in retiring draw 
Hearts after them tangled in amorous nets. 

Love wins and moves. It is this power of mutual admira¬ 
tion that strengthens the weak, and balances the staggering. 
Let the young lady, whether she be sister, friend, or betrothed, 
show her dislike for intemperate habits, and not throw her 
pearls before swine, and it will have a moral influence upon 
him who would share her affections. Let the young ladies 
of our land determine not to receive the attentions of those 
who secretly or openly indulge in the use of intoxicating 
drinks, or in the filthy habit of using tobacco, and in ten years 
there will be a greater moral reform throughout this broad 
land of ours, than can be achieved by legislation or the force 
of arms. It will be the means of a revolution such as history 
has never recorded. It is not too much to say that in the 
hands of the young ladies lies the power, in a measure, to 
crush this monster-evil. With them lies the power of extermi¬ 
nating it from this fair land. This means not the young mar¬ 
ried ladies, but those who have never pledged their hand in 
holy wedlock. The reform must begin before, not after mar¬ 
riage. Whilst man is born to dominion, the woman is to tem¬ 
per and subdue this spirit of dominence. She wants to con¬ 
trol the spirit of intemperance before the wedding day, and 
if she finds it beyond control, she should never consent to be 
any man’s slave, nor bring disgrace upon herself by casting 
in her lot with his. Do not pity him so much as to lose your 
self-possession, hoping that after you are married there will be 
time enough to subdue his habit. Never join yourself to such 
an one, however dear, for if there is no respect for your virtue 
and purity in the day of courtship, be assured that there will 
be less during the course of married life. We want to be sure 
that wherever a young lady is, there will be found a sweet, 
subduing, and harmonizing influence of love, pervading and 
hallowing, from center to circumference, the entire circle in 
which she moves. A writer has said, u Kindness is the orna¬ 
ment of man, it is the chief glory of woman; it is, indeed, 
woman’s true prerogative, her sceptre and her crown.” It is the 
sword with which she conquers, and the charm with which 


296 


THE FAMILY. 


she captivates. Would that all might possess the charm of 
inward purity, which becomes the moral and spiritual refiner 
of all that is truly good in man. Make your life a lens 
through which you may gather all the glorious rays and sun¬ 
beams of the spiritual light to concentrate them upon your own 
character, as well as upon the life of him who shares your 
daily affections and associations. Dr. Franklin, beautifully 
said of this refining quality in woman,— 

Charming woman, can true converts make, 

We love the precepts for the teacher’s sake; 

Virtue in her appears so strong and gay, 

We hear with pleasure, and with pride obey. 

With these weapons the world lies conquered at woman’s 
feet; and under the proud banner of fidelity to all that is 
sacred to her heart, will lie the spoils of an unparalelled 
victory. 


FEMALE EDUCATION. 


MRS. E. IONE HENRY, M. S., CANAL WINCHESTER, O. 


OD GAVE woman mental faculties equal to those 
of man. And as he never made anything in vain, 
nor without a purpose, we conclude that woman, 
having the same capacity which man has, should 
have an equal education. 

Solomon did not say man or my son, “ Get wis- 
. dom, get understanding;” but put it in such a 
form as to include all without reference to sex, or social stand¬ 
ing. Why, now, endow woman with as much mind as man if 
she is forever to be deprived of a training equal to that of 
man. 

The Priests and Scribes had no misgivings about going to 
the college to consult Huldah and Anna the prophetesses. 
Nor did Christ make any distinction; but opened the door as 
wide to woman as to man. 

Poor, indeed, must be the lot of the woman who has no 














THE FAMILY. 


297 

education, nor aspirations, and who never basks in the ever¬ 
lasting sunshine of the intellect, and finds her only pleasure 
amidst the transactions of every day life. Well may she be 
compared to the flower that hides from the sunshine, and 
blooms in the long, dark hours of night, seeking darkness 
rather than light, leaving the higher and nobler instincts of 
her nature to perish. 

Education does not end with our school days; but is the 
means of developing mind by an acquaintance with books, 
and the influence of others upon us. It includes all the sur¬ 
roundings of life from the time of birth to its close, and who 
will dare say that it ends with this life. 

Woman has just as much right to enjoy the pleasures and 
gratifications of a good education as man. Her capacity to 
receive and retain instruction is equal to that of man. The 
lives of men and women are constantly and inextricably inter¬ 
twined. Neither rises nor falls without taking the other 
along. In the house, in worship, and recreation, they are 
inseperable companions, each and every moment giving and 
receiving influence. 

Physically, woman is weaker than man ; but mentally she 
is as strong, and has, therefore, more need of a good education 
to enable her to cope with the stern duties of life. The 
amount of knowledge obtained in our colleges is not so great 
that her brain would hopelessly stagger under it. Hence we 
plead that she should have all the education, and all the 
advantages which our colleges afford. Where one woman is 
injured by excessive brain-work, there are a hundred diseased 
by excessive nerve, or muscle work, or more than either— 
mental idleness. As night gradually merges into day when 
the heavenly robed sovereign ascends to his celestial heights, 
so educational darkness for woman has vanished, and a 
brighter day is before her. 

As we advance in civilization the responsibility of woman 
increases. Let her education, therefore, be equal to the 
emergency. Only fifty years ago there were many who 
thought that all the education woman needed more than 
houskeeping was a little “readin’ and ritin’,” and a few 
advanced studies for those who were ahead of their age, 
including rithmetic.” It is to be feared there is much of this 


20 


298 


THE FAMILY. 


error lurking in many minds yet, as to higher education. The 
sons are sent to college and get a finished education, whilst 
the daughters are left at home to do the work. This we regard 
as an error. Hence we make an earnest plea in behalf of our 
sisters. 

Women, not being equal to men in all respects, have been 
encouraged to believe that they are to rely on men, and that 
it is not womanly to labor, especially to earn their own living, 
and that they need not cultivate their powers of mind so' 
freely as men, hence, are not alone to blame for the state of 
things that has existed. All society is responsible, to a certain' 
extent, that women have received less literary and scientific 
education than men, and that they have, as a consequence, 
been less cultivated, and have often been afraid and ashamed 
to tell how they yearned for something better and higher. 
We do not contend that women are to perform all kinds of 
work that men do. This would be absurd; but we maintain 
that their mental powers are not inferior to those of men, and 
that, when they perform the same duties that men do, they 
should receive as much pay or more, as they often work under 
more difficulties. 

It has long since been admitted, as a settled fact, that 
educated parsons make the most successful workmen in any 
pursuit. An education is no hindrance in any calling; but is 
on the contrary a help and never comes amiss. And as this 
is so, parents should give their daughters an equal education 
with the sons, and let them drink freely from the crystal 
springs of science, and letters, and not be compelled from 
childhood to old age to stoop and quench their intellectual 
thirst at puddles. Nature’s casket is full of curiosities, invit¬ 
ing the enquirer to come and view her wonders; the diligent 
to seek employment at her door, to dwell beneath her bowers, 
breathe the purity of her atmosphere, to admire the wis¬ 
dom of her author in the beautiful consistency of her plans 
and read the lessons written therein. 

Some may contend that woman’s sphere is at home. We 
grant that the majority of women do lead a domestic life, and 
should, therefore, be educated with reference to it. In the 
seclusion of her home she exerts an influence. Children are 
committed to her care, at the most susceptible age, when they 


THE FAMILY. 299 

are influenced by personal contact, she plants the first seeds, 
and makes the first impressions on the youthful mind. 

If a woman has natural skill and tact, she needs education 
to give weight to her teaching, and material for her tact. The 
position of woman at the hea$ of the family is very much 
like that of man at the head of the government, requiring 
every possible variety of mental training, and every possible 
variety of intellectual furniture. Without the liberty, the 
comprehensiveness, the wisdom, which education gives, she 
cannot administer the affairs of her kingdom well. Natural 
tact will do much, but it cannot supply the place of education, 
without which she is mentally deformed and weakened. 

Whether parents have much or little of this world’s goods, 
to bestow on their daughters, they should not neglect their 
education. Houses may burn, lands may be mortgaged away, 
banks may fail, but an education is something that can not 
be squandered and lost. By educating their daughters par- 
rents not only prove themselves to be benefactors to their 
own children; but their good influence will be felt for gener¬ 
ations to come. Outside of the home circle there are some 
women now leading such beautiful and useful lives, that those 
who have been prejudiced against woman using all her powers 
freely, now encourage her to cultivate a noble self-reliance, 
and improve her talents wisely for her own good, and the 
good of all. 

Those women who are ready and willing to labor in any 
good cause will find a great number of earnest, anxious co¬ 
workers among men. Men do not strive to deter women 
from being great and good. Only let the characters of our 
sisters manifest purity of thought, power of intellect, or any 
other excellence, and they will find themselves surrounded by 
noble and enlightener] brothers, who appreciate every effort 
in behalf of the right and especially such as require the 
greatest struggles and sacrifices. 


FAMILY RELIGION. 


REV. S. B. YOCKEY, A. M., XENIA, OHIO. 



“That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth ; 
that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after 
the similitude of a palace.” Ps. 144, 12. 

HE FAMILY is of divine origin; hence it should be 
considered with the most partial interest. Out of 
it are indeed the issues of life. No good in the 
world but may be traced to this source ; no evil but 
had its beginning here. Here the roots of life find 
soil congenial for moral and spiritual development, 
or soil exhausted, in which growth is impossible. 
The prosperity and stability of a great nation rest 
not only on the number, but on the virtue of its 
families. If the home atmosphere is one of Christian devo¬ 
tion, the highest moral altitude may be attained; if the reverse 
be true, the lowest depths of degradation, reached. From the 
Christian home will go forth the most useful citizen, and the 
most loyal subject of the Heavenly King; and if we study the 
annals of crime, we will find that most of those who have 
opposed law, offended justice and outraged humanity, have 
been raised in ungodly homes. 

In the spirit of the greatest candor, let us consider the sub¬ 
ject of this article. At the head of the family, by right of 
Bible teaching, stands the father, not the tyrant ruling for per¬ 
sonal gain, but, if he be a Christian, feeling the greatness of 
his responsibility, and exercising his authority in the fear of 
God, himself meanwhile showing an example of childlike 
obedience to the commands of the Heavenly Father. Thus 
some of the first elements of religion, obedience and re verence, 
are secured, and indeed the very idea which is found in the 
word family, harmonizes with this. We must not think that 
we can enjoy religion in the family, and secure its benefits, if 
we ignore its conditions. The God we worship has everywhere 
established the law of order. It needs no argument to prove 
that success in any walk of life, is attained only by fulfilling 
the conditions of this law, old as the universe, yet never losing 











THE FAMILY. 


301 

force. Human laws may be amended or repealed, but divine 
laws are unchangeable and irrevocable, fixed by Omnipotence. 
Of the greatest importance is the application of order to the 
religious life of the family. We observe stated times for the 
public worship of God, for alms-gathering, and the business 
transactions of the church and for the Sabbath school work- 
Just as essential is it for our proper growth in grace, that we 
should regularly surround the family altar, dedicated to God, 
and thus prove that religion is not an impulse, not a spasmodic 
or occasional service, but the principle and practice of our 
daily lives. As religion is the source of the family strength 
and fount of its purest joys, it must be presented before 
the household in a pleasant aspect. Why attach the idea of 
gloom to that which alone can give true happiness to the 
human heart? The idea of joy in religion is compatible with 
the deepest reverence. We may have “The voice of joy and 
the voice of gladness,” while we “ serve God with reverence 
and godly fear.” 

Religious duties then should be performed regularly, 
promptly and in a cheerful spirit, never made secondary to 
secular matters, but always first in time and importance, 
“ Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” 

Religion, to be a power in the family, must be diffusive. 
We must not regard it as a holiday garment, to be laid aside 
on our return to ordinary duties. Neither is it an undercur¬ 
rent of life, running in an opposite direction from the one on 
the surface. It should pervade the entire home life, and its- 
spirit be the animating principle of action in each individual 
member. 

In every family there is a certain controlling spirit. u The 
manners, personal views, prejudices and practical motives 
create an atmosphere which passes into all and pervades all, 
as naturally as the air they breathe. This spirit, whatever it 
may be, furnishes the motive for all the famity activities, and 
is the pivot on which turns all the impulses and energies of its 
members; and life is to them successful only when the idea 
connected with this spirit, is realized. u The children gather 
wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead 
dough to make cakes to the queen of Heaven, and to pour out 
drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to 


302 


THE FAMILY. 

anger.” Here we have a Bible picture of a family engaged in 
a common act of worship, inspired thereto by a family spirit 
of idolatry. In the same manner every family lives and 
labors, unconsciously, perhaps, under the inspiration of some 
dominant spirit. 

“ The ruling passion, be it what it will, 

The ruling passion conquers reason stil 1. ’' 

If this spirit be one of penuriousness, the home life takes 
this coloring. It dwarfs the intellect, shrinks the soul, discards- 
home comforts and social enjoyments, ignores the claims of 
religion, looks with coldness upon the needs and sufferings of 
others, and forces life down to the narrowest groove. The old 
deacon, who boasted that he had been a church-member 
twenty-five years, and it had only cost him as many cents> 
must have breathed the atmosphere of such a home. 

If avarice be the ruling passion, then an inordinate spirit of 
gain, a consuming greed will characterize its members. Every¬ 
thing will be made subservient to this sentiment. Life will 
be viewed through the glasses of covetousness, and success 
gauged, not by the good accomplished, but by the wealth 
amassed. Injustice, dishonesty, false representation, extor¬ 
tion, these all gradually take their places as bodyguards when 
avarice is the ruler. 

If a worldly sentiment exerts an evil influence on the family 
when it becomes the ruling passion, a potent agency for good 
would be found in a religious atmosphere. Children will as 
readily imbibe truth as error. If the parents do life’s work 
from the standpoint of duty^ if they are thoroughly imbued 
with God’s spirit, obey his commands and delight in his service, 
this heavenly, atmosphere will pervade the home, and the 
children will unconsciously absorb it. But this silent influence 
must be supplemented by direct teaching. They are not only 
to know and serve God themselves, but are to teach their chil¬ 
dren. “ Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart 
and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand that 
they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall 
teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest 
in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou 
liest down, and when thou risest up.” The whole scope of 


THE FAMILY. 


303 

Bible teaching is a guarantee that faithful family effort will be 
abundantly rewarded. Hannah dedicated her son to God, and 
he became the incorruptible judge of Israel. Eli, faithless in 
his household, lived to see his family go out in disgrace. Saint 
Paul gathers the whole thing in one sentence, u Bring them up 
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” 

There is, in these days, a tendency on the part of parents to 
delegate to others the training that should be done in the 
family. Sunday schools are established for the religious 
instruction of the young. Why not decrease home cares? 
Many well-meaning, but short-sighted parents excuse them¬ 
selves from this duty by contributing, more or less liberally, to 
churches and Sabbath schools, feeling that they have discharged 
all moral obligations. But the churches and Sabbath schools 
are powerless to counteract the bad tendencies and teachings 
of the week, or to supply the religious training which belongs 
to, and can only be perfected in, the home. 

The home must embrace these three elements: a school, a 
government and a church. It is a school where all are learners 
and the textbook is the Bible. It is a government, in which 
the authority vested by the Almighty in the father, is recog¬ 
nized. The patriarch ruled as the head of the family, and this 
was the only form of government of which the ancient Hebrew 
had any knowledge. God was the universal king, and each 
family was a province, with the father as the acknowledged 
head, under His sovereignty. Jesus, who is our exemplar in 
all things, was subject unto his parents. So in the like man¬ 
ner, the church with all her activities, must be in our homes. 
The church work must find here a glad response. Here its 
benevolent enterprises must be seconded and its teachings 
practiced. Paul recognized a church in Philemon’s house. 
The heathen have household gods to whom daily prayers are 
said, but in Christian homes altars should be raised to the one 
true God. 

The home, resting on this triple foundation, can not fall. 
Bible teachings accepted and enforced, its authority acknowl¬ 
edged and obeyed, while the Christ is loved and adored, con¬ 
stitute for each member a defense against every danger, an 
anchor for eveiy storm. 


HOW TO PROMOTE FAMILY RELIGION. 


REV. G. H. LEONARD, A. M., BASIL, 0. 


E SHOULD always endeavor to pursue such a 
course of conduct in the family as will result in 
the greatest happiness to the different members 
of which it is composed. What this is, has often 
been pointed out by those who have written upon 
the subject, so that no one need be in ignorance 
respecting the influence which religion has upon 
the well-being of the family. No well-regulated family can 
be without its altar where morning and evening sacrifices are 
offered to God, without serious loss. There can, in fact, be no 
substitute for the family religion. For neither wealth, intel¬ 
lectual culture, refinement, natural affection, good manners— 
neither one, nor all combined, desirable as they are in many 
respects, and much as they may be made to contribute to our 
temporal welfare, can make up for the want of religion in the 
family. This is of paramount importance, and should never 
be neglected. The Psalmist well understood this when he 
said “ the voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the taber¬ 
nacles of the righteous.” They alone have sufficient reason 
to rejoice. 

Such now being the importance of family religion, it 
becomes a question of deep interest to us all to know how we 
can promote it so as to make it productive of the greatest 
good. To secure this desirable end, there must be a faithful 
discharge of the various relative duties which the different 
members of the family owe to each other. What these duties 
are, may be very readily understood by consulting the Scrip¬ 
tures. Let every parent, child and servant, read carefully the 
first six verses of the sixth chapter of Ephesians, where these 
relative duties are clearly presented. The number of happy 
families may be very readily increased by a faithful observ¬ 
ance of what the Scriptures enjoin. No one can maintain 
that these duties are properly discharged, without engaging 
in the worship of God in the family. In every well-regulated 
and pious family, there is beard the voice of supplication and 








THE FAMILY. 


305 

thanksgiving. This has been. the case in the habitations of 
the righteous throughout the history of the past. A certain 
writer says of Abraham: “That wherever he had a tent, 
God had an altar, and that, an altar, sanctified by prayer.” 
It must be so now, in every house, where there is an earnest 
desire to promote religion in the family. 

It is not, however, fulfilling the spirit of this requirement 
simply to read a portion of Scripture and pray. This is only 
too frequently done. The Scriptures are read with such rap¬ 
idity as to divest the service of all solemnity. The prayers 
are also in many instances offered in such a low tone of voice, 
as not to be distinctly heard ; or they are so loud and so long, 
or so very short, that they are not to edification, and fail to 
interest the different members of the family. To make the 
worship of God in the family as interesting and impressive 
as possible, the prayers should always be offered in a solemn 
and devout manner, so as to u worship the Lord in the beauty 
of holiness.” There should frequently be a reference in the 
prayers to the doctrines, precepts, and promises contained in 
the Scripture lesson that has been read. The peculiar situa¬ 
tion of the family, as well as the circumstances by which it is 
surrounded, will also always furnish something to give 
variety to the prayers. There is no actual necessity of the 
same forms of expression being repeated every day, and of 
praying for everything at each service. It is, no doubt, on 
this account, in part, that family worship has become so 
wearisome to many. 

It will also promote interest in family worship if singing 
by the different members be connected with it. This will be 
found always to form a very delightful part of the service, as 
it is the part in which every voice in the family may be heard. 
We know that our Savior sang as well as prayed, and his ex¬ 
ample should move us in every particular. Let us then 
engage in singing praises unto the Lord in our morning and 
evening devotions in the family according to what Matthew 
Henry says, “ He who reads does well; he who reads and 
prays does better; but he who reads, sings and prays does 
best of all.” It is also important that as much of God’s word 
as possible should be read in the family, and that some sys¬ 
tem should be adopted whereby all may be made more 


306 


THE FAMILY. 


familiar with the different portions of the Bible. 

Religion should also form a - more frequent subject of con¬ 
versation in the family. There can be no mistake as to the 
impression made on the minds of the children and servants, 
when almost every other subject is freely spoken about with 
only a seldom reference to the doctrines and duties of relig¬ 
ion. Many heads of families are greatly at fault in this par¬ 
ticular. The conversation is by no means mainly of such a 
character as is,calculated to make a favorable impression con¬ 
cerning the value and importance of religion. The interest 
in public worship, the Sunday-school, and all the benevolent 
operations of the church, as well as the esteem for the pastor, 
will soon be determined from the nature of the conversation 
in the family. “.Out of the abundance of the heart the 
mouth speaketh.” “Let your conversation, or conduct, be 
as it becometh the gospel of Christ.” 

It is also very important that attention be given to the char¬ 
acter of the books and newspapers received in the family. 
No Christian parent can be too careful respecting this matter. 
It is certainly as much the duty of a parent to endeavor to 
provide his children with good reading, as it is to furnish good 
food for the table. There should be, if possible, at least one 
religious newspaper regularly received in the family. If too 
poor to subscribe for more than one periodical, it should 
always be a religious paper in preference to any other. 

Pious parents will always have a regard to the character of 
the associates which their children have, and encourage them 
when they do well. They will teach them by precept, as 
well as example, to attend the worship of God in the sanctuary, 
and “to fear and keep his commandments.” By so doing 
they will greatly promote religion in the family. There is no 
other way to make a happy home. 

“ Where is the happiest home on earth? 

’Tis not ’mid scenes of noisy mirth, 

But where God’s favor sought aright 
Fills every breast with joy and light. 

On such a home of peace and love 
God showers his blessing from above; 

And angels watching o’er it cry 
Lo! this is like our home on high.” 


ONENESS OF THE FAMILY IN THE FAITH AND 
HOPE OF HEAVEN. 


REV. J. STEINER, PULASKI, OHIO. 


HILE MAN was yet in his state of innocence, in 
Paradise, God himself instituted the family which 
has survived all the changes, vicissitudes, and 
revolutions that have occurred in the natural, 
political, and moral world, and has dispensed un¬ 
numbered blessings during the ages that have 
intervened. 

The design of the family is to bind together in a common 
brotherhood the whole human race by the ties of consanguin¬ 
ity, to harmonize the heart, to centralize the affections, and cul¬ 
tivate the love of home. Its primary and central truth is that 
of unity. And when this unity prevails, there is a sympa¬ 
thetic cord which so unites the different members together, 
that when either joy or sorrow touches the heart of one, the 
hearts of all are affected thereby. 

This oneness is more sacred, and assumes a higher form, 
when all the members of the family are united in the same 
faith, and hope of heaven. Divisions in families, which 
merely refer to the pursuits and avocations of life, as when 
one member is a mechanic, another a merchant, another a 
farmer, a physician, a lawyer, or a minister, are not only not 
material, but rather meet the daily wants, and subserve the 
interests of society. 

• It is different, however, when one is an atheist, another a 
scoffer, and another an humble Christian; as the interests which 
are here involved, are vital, and will peril their happiness, both 
in this, and in the world to come. 

But why should a family not be united in the faith and 
hope of heaven, when the different members have the same 
great interests at stake. The soul of the one is just as valua¬ 
ble as that of the other. They have all been redeemed by the 
same precious blood. They all need pardon, and if pardoned 
at all, they must obtain it in the same way. They must all 
die, and stand before the same judgment seat of Christ. There 










THE FAMILY. 


308 

is no reason why a father or a mother should be a Christian, 
and their children not; or why a wife should love the Savior, 
and the husband not; or why a sister should seek and find her 
happiness in religion, and her brother not. The duty of all is 
equally the duty of each one. All the members too, of the 
family, are substantially under the same obligations to God. 
It is true, age, capacity, and position in society, may modify 
this obligation to some extent, so that more is expected from 
the head of the household, and those of riper years, but the 
young cannot do away with it, as all are bound to love and 
serve God, their Creator. All being equally the creatures of 
God, fed at his bountiful table, and redeemed by the same 
precious blood of Christ, are substantially under the same 
obligation to love him. Children have no right to say to 
their parents, “ father and mother, you ought to be Chris¬ 
tians ; ” nor the husband say to his wife, u wife, you ought to 
be a Christian ; ” nor the brother say to his sister, u sister, you 
ought to serve Lord;” for all are under the same obliga¬ 
tion, and not one exempt from the duty of loving and serving 
the Creator of all. A Christian parent’s happiness is identified 
with his religion, as are his hopes and prospects with regard 
to the future prosperity of his children; and where there is no 
such hope, his anxiety for their future welfare must be painful 
in the extreme. And just in proportion as religion is valued 
and deemed important, will his anxiety increase. Respect for 
the Bible, for the family altar, and for religion in general, is 
necessary for the happiness of the family. Besides, the hap¬ 
piness of those in the family, who are already pious, demands 
it. You will often find in the earthly home, a dear daughter, 
who loves Jesus, while the rest of the family are living without 
God, and hope in the world Could you witness her great 
agony of soul, when alone, upon her knees, pouring out her 
heart to God in prayer for an impenitent father, or indifferent 
mother, a pleasure-loving sister, or a prodigal brother; could you 
know the pain and anxiety of mind which she has when sickness 
enters the earthly home, and some loved one lies upon a bed 
of suffering, exposed to the danger of death, you w T ould see in 
her anguish and distress how much of her own happiness in 
that earthly home is involved in the piety of each of its 
members. 


THE FAMILY. 


309 

And what can tend more to impart consolation in times of 
affliction and bereavement, than piety in all the members of 
the family. However pleasant the family circle may be, death 
will, sooner or later filter, and break up the dearest relations in 
life. No family remains a whole long. And when death does 
enter where loved ones dwell, the same cord is touched in every 
bosom. The heart of not only one, but of all is made sad ; 
the eyes of not only one, but of all weep. If the one laid 
upon the bed of death never professed religion, nor indulged a 
hope of heaven, how deep the sorrow of the whole family. If 
there is no evidence of a change of heart, before death does 
its work, how bitter the sorrow of those who survive in that 
household. But if the smitten one was a Christian, then how 
great the comfort in the death of that member of the family, 
as all in that house of mourning are made to feel that their 
loss, was their loved one’s eternal gain. And we may well 
add, that there is nothing in a family that will so much pro¬ 
mote the spiritual welfare of all, as oneness in the faith and 
hope of heaven. 

There is but one path that leads to the heavenly home, and 
that is the narrow and straight. We have no reason to believe 
that one can be saved in one way, and another in another. 
One can not be saved by Christian piety, another by infidelity, 
another by the blood of Jesus, and another by morality. If 
anything be clear in the Bible, it is, that the death of Jesus 
is the only foundation of a hope'bf heaven, and, as religion 
has made us one in Christ Jesus here, we shall be one, and 
mingle as one, and share in the joy and glory of heaven as one 
forever. And we would fail in what we have written, if we 
did not ask you, dear reader, what have you done, that your 
family may be one in the faith and hope of heaven ? Have 
you yourself, professed Christ before the world ? Have you 
made any efforts to secure the unity of which we have spoken 
in your earthly home ? What is your example ? Do you 
pray for those united to you in the ties and relations of life? 
A whole family in heaven! What language can express, or 
imagination conceive, or pencil portray, the joy, of a whole 
family saved and glorified in heaven ? 


THE HUSBAND THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY. 



OD HAS committed to the husband and father the 
government of each and every member of the 
Christian family, and this office he dare not resign 
in favor of any one else, it the position he sustains 
is to prove acceptable to God. In all cases that 
occur in domestic life, the husband is, and ever 
continues to be the supreme and ultimate court of 
decision. By his direction and orders he has to make such 
arrangements as he regards conducive to the welfare of his 
household, with respect to both external and internal regula¬ 
tion. Upon his family he has to imprint the stamp of char¬ 
acter corresponding to the standard of his judgment and 
disposition. It depends upon his will how far the individual 
members of his family enter into association with the world 
outside the house. In short he is to his own household what 
worldly rulers are to their particular states. Even though he 
be always conscious of the want of the necessary firmness 
and decision, yet this in no way discharges him from the duties 
for whose fulfillment, as master and head of his household, 
he is responsible in God ? s sight. Let him remember that in 
the successful conduct of his government, everything does 
not just depend on the amount of energy and firmness he 
employs to accomplish his purpose in every individual 
instance. Only let him preserve a prudent consciousness of 
the position which God has assigned him, be unwavering in 
his views and whatever he intends to do, and make known 
his will in a deliberate and dispassionate manner, and God 
will insure to him in the eyes of the members of his house¬ 
hold the authority he requires. Weak minds easily become 
excited, because, unconsciously, they wish to borrow from 
passion the power wdierein they are deficient. But this is not 
the right thing. 

The government exercised by the husband must be like 
that exercised by Christ, free from selfishness, and unkindness. 
To the house-father belongs the right of rule. This right he 












THE FAMILY. 


311 

is resolutely to maintain; but in doing so he must not lose 
sight of the fact that as Christ was appointed head of the 
Church only after he had given himself for it, so also this 
divine arrangement in the family presupposes the existence 
of the most sincere and self-sacrificing love on the part of its 
head. Whosoever wishes to fill the position, and exercise the 
duties of husband and father in a manner acceptable to God, 
must begin with self-denial, and by devoting himself wholly 
to the service of his family. He must be willing to sacrifice 
his own personal pleasure, ease, convenience, wishes, and 
desires to its happiness and welfare. Then, and only then, 
will he prove himself as the true Christian head of his 
family, and a disciple and representative of his Master. In 
every divine institution in which God selects the individual 
from among the many, and invests him with authority over 
them, he is thus invested, not for the purpose of oppressing 
or even humiliating them, but promoting their true happiness. 
This truth, like every other, has found its most perfect fulfill¬ 
ment and realization in Christ. 


THE MOTHER’S QUIET HOME-LIFE. 



OTHER, IN her quiet in-door life, moves as the 
queen of the family, and possesses the true strength 
of maternal life and love. Home is the fortress of 
a mother. Here she is in posession of true power; 
and though she may not be heard in the noisy strife 
of the world, she is training those who shall, the 
better for having been prepared by her in retirement, take 
part, and will accomplish the out-door duties of public life. 
Here, under her gentle eye, her sons grow up silently as plants 
in their youth, and her daughters as corner-stones polished 
after the similitude of a palace. Her’s is the day of small things, 
which only they despise who have overlooked how in nature 
and in grace all immense powers have feeble and modest 
beginnings, do all their first work in secret and come forth, not 










312 


THE FAMILY. 


by observation, to rule and reign. Mothers often nurse giants 
when both they and the world little dream of it. Of them it 
may also be truly said that their voice is heard in quiet more 
than the cry of them that rule among fools. It is for this rea¬ 
son that the apostles have characterized mothers as u Keepers 
at home,” and command, “ Let them learn first to show piety 
at home.” 

In the family are the germs of life and of its hopes. In 
vain do we look to thrones for the world’s power and peace. 
The king is on the throne, only after he has been in the family. 
He only rules after a mother has ruled him, and rules as he 
has been ruled. Thrones are not the hills whence cometh help. 
As in nature, streams of blessings come down from high places 
only after the drops of which they are composed had been 
silently evaporated from the lowly vales and distilled in gen¬ 
tle showers upon their sublime summits ; so those who occupy 
positions of honor and power in the world, but return to fami¬ 
lies and the people what through the silent influence of the 
family they have first received. “Put not your trust in princes.” 
As from families grow kings and kingdoms so through them 
ultimately are both ruled. 

How radical is the mistake of all social reforms which begin 
not in the family and work through its divine order; vain are 
all schools and schemes which include not the family. The 
tree cannot bless the germ from which it springs; it is the 
germ that blesses the tree—and from scions that spring up 
around the patriarchal stem are forests made. Life is in all 
spheres the same, and unfolds itself according to the same 
divine law. As in the family of Bethlehem, so still within 
the home circle begins all glory to God in the highest, all 
peace on earth and good will to men. God has ordained that 
earth and Heaven shall be peopled from holy families. 

— Harbctugh. 


A MOTHER’S INFLUENCE. 


REV. S. P. MAUGER, A. M., KIMBERTON, PA. 


QUESTION OF great importance demands our 
attention when we inquire to whom are we in¬ 
debted for the principles, and particular traits of 
our character ? These elements of character are 
the governing principles, and give to man the 
leading features by which he is distinguished from 
his fellow-men. Observation and reflection give 
abundant proof, and convince us that these influ¬ 
ences are powerful agents for good or evil. The various stages 
of life through which we are called to pass, from youth to old 
age, are periods of preparation, one for the other in their order. 

The golden opportunity comes in childhood’s unclouded 
hours, when the mind is like the unsullied page-^without a 
stain—waiting for the indellible marks, which are permanent 
and lasting, and not effaced by the countless changes of the 
future. 

The home and fireside influences have a great bearing on the 
future of the child, who is expected to perform some noble 
part in the busy scenes of life. In the very nature of things 
some one occupies a very responsible position in reference to 
the future of the youth, as he goes forth on the ocean of life to 
meet its stern realities. No one stands any closer, nor has any 
one an earlier claim than a mother. She comes forward as the 
first instructor, whose watchful eye is always ready to discern 
any of the needs and wants, and with an ever ready and will¬ 
ing hand to provide every comfort. 

The mother’s influence is incalculable, and deserves the 
careful reflection of every individual, for it lies at the founda¬ 
tion of all future work. She not only performs an important 
part in seeing that the daily wants are supplied, but it is hers 
to sow the seeds of moral habits of character and conduct. It 
is in her power to stamp on the mind the impulses which lead to 
usefulness, honor and greatness, or to sorrow, shame, dishonor 
and ruin. Under her influence are those who go forth to fill 
the important places in life, to whom the people look for law 



21 







314 


THE FAMILY. 


and order, and who are to rule wisely to the glory and honor 
of God. The mother’s influence enters into the various spheres 
of life, and can be seen in him who rules over the nation, in 
those who represent the nation in its various interests, and in 
those who bear the message of u life, light and immortality.” 

The future men are what mothers make them. She wields 
a mighty influence in shaping the destinies of people and 
nations. Many are they who now hold responsible positions, 
who pay a lasting tribute to the memory of their mothers for 
instilling, by jDrecept and example, the principles of an upright 
and godly life. There is, therefore, much importance attached 
to a mother’s influence and her responsibilities are great, in 
order that the principles taught, and the impressions made be 
in harmony with a noble life and be right in the sight of God. 
The history of the past is full of appeals to mothers of faith 
and piety, and the great want of all ages has been Christian 
mothers. 

The pages of history, sacred and profane, are full of evi¬ 
dences in favor of good influences as encouragements for her 
not to grow weary in well-doing, in her prayers, cares and 
anxieties; for these will be finger-boards to true greatness. 

Is there anything nobler than to lay the foundation for a life 
of usefulness? Who is better able to do this than a mother, 
who in an unconscious and conscious way seeks to develop 
the higher faculties of the child ? 

Her position is by no means a low one, but an exalted and 
honored one, upon which Heaven smiles. Using her position 
aright, she can hand down to posterity blessings which coming 
generations will hail with great delight. 

Time and labor thus spent will bring untold comforts which 
are of priceless value, worth more than gold or silver, a treasure 
which moth cannot corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal. 
It will be far-reaching in its influence, like the rays of the 
sun diverging as they go from the fountain head; yet in their 
mission of good extend to all their vivifying and beneficial 
influence. No other impressions are s© lasting and indellible, 
for they have been made when the mind was free from the 
corrupt influences of life. These are for the future man, the 
seeds which are to develop and present to the world the rewards 
which attend the earnest endeavors of a Christian mother. 


THE FAMILY. 


315 

Through all life’s commotion, mid cares and woes, we can 
find much comfort and satisfaction in carrying into effect the 
examples and precepts of those who bear u the sweetest names 
that earth can know.” 

Youthful treasures cannot fail, but are like the perennial 
plant, always fragrant with the recollections of a mother’s 
affectionate words—a mother’s counsel and earnest appeals— 
and her fervent prayers for our’welfare in life’s onward march 
to victory. Time has erased a multitude of things impressed 
on the mind, but the fireside words of home and mother are 
still on memory’s pages. Though years have intervened and 
the desire for fame and wealth has led the wanderer into dis¬ 
tant lands, the maternal teachings are like unto guardian 
angels, hovering over him, pointing to the true end of life. A 
mother’s words are never lost nor forgotten. We may strive 
to hide them and be completely immersed in the business of 
life, yet the whisperings of a mother’s words often break upon 
our ears. Let us go back to childhood’s sunny hours and live 
u oe’r and oe’r” the days when our mothers carefully and ten¬ 
derly cared for “ the little olive plants.” 


A MOTHER’S CARES. 


MRS. ELVIRA S. YOCKEY, M. S., XENIA, 0. 


OT A little has been said about maternal cares. 
That peculiar responsibilities belong to the sweet 
and holy relation, which a mother holds to her 
offspring, there can be no doubt. The tie between 
mother and child is, in a sense, closer than any 
other earthly tie. It is one which God himself 
made, and which all nature owns, and all animated 
t creation shares. Even the brute mother has 
the maternal instinct strongly developed, and shows unselfish 
devotion to her young, caring for them with fondest solicitude, 
and defending them even with her life. 

If in the animal world, where instinct only holds sway, we 
see such mother love, we will surely look for a higher exhibi- 














316 


THE FAMILY. 


tion of it in the human heart, controlled by reason and 
religion. 

What sacrifice too great, what labor to severe for the true 
mother! There is no annoyance she will not endure, no self- 
denial she will not undergo, no danger she will not brave for 
her children. Home is the sphere of the mother’s action, and 
the care and training of her children, her life-work. 

This training includes care for the bodies, minds, and souls 
of the little ones she has brought into the world. No one but 
a mother can comprehend the anxious care that must sur¬ 
round the child through its earliest years. The infant is utter¬ 
ly helpless and dependent, its capacities of body are undevel¬ 
oped, its powers of mind and soul latent, and the mother is 
the one to whom God has given the work of developing and 
moulding these wonderful possibilities of body and soul. 
What work so great, so fraught with responsibility and dignity 
as this, the building of character for time and eternity! 

How much care the little body requires in health and sick¬ 
ness, alike. It must be nourished, clothed, and cared for, 
taught and trained. Many of the mother’s duties are, in 
themselves, trivial, but in the aggregate, constitute a heavy 
and wearing burden, and when disease blows its poisoned 
breath upon her child, how these cares are augmented. What 
mother what but has spent hours of sleepless anxiety beside 
the sick-bed of her little one ? Who can fathom the harrow¬ 
ing suspense of these sick-bed , vigils, when the too bright 
eye, flushed cheek, and hurrying pulse arouse her worst fears ; 
or the sunken eye, pallid lips, and failing pulse tell of the 
waning life, and remind her that her treasure was but lent, 
and that the Master claims his own. 

Through the mother’s training, habits are to be formed 
which will tell, not only on the physical frame, but also on 
the child’s whole nature, such as habits of neatness and 
punctuality, of order and dispatch, of industry and persever¬ 
ance, of bodily posture and bearing; what care the mother 
takes that good habits are formed and become as second 
nature, and that bad ones be avoided. The mother’s cares are 
but begun, when she attends to these bodily needs of her child. 
There are other habits which effect the body, but include 
qualities of the heart, such as diffidence and boldness. While 


THE FAMILY. 


317 

it is desirable to cultivate sufficient self-confidence to give the 
child an easy bearing, and make it possible, under all circum¬ 
stances, for it to take up and discharge life’s duties well, an 
extreme of assurance or boldness is greatly to be deplored. 
A modest demeanor and humility of spirit go hand in hand, 
and it may be safely asserted that a bold bearing will 
accompany a conceited spirit. That child can never be a 
learner, in the best sense, which has an overweening confi¬ 
dence in his own powers, and an exalted notion of his own 
attainments. It is no unimportant part of a mother’s work to 
draw these distinctions, and instil a spirit of modest self- 
reliance in her children. 

It is the mother who must supply food to the eager, inquir¬ 
ing, unfolding mind of her child. She must take heed that it 
absorbs the sunshine of Divine wisdom, and drinks the dew 
of heavenly grace, so that it may blossom at last in perfect 
beauty, symmetry and purity. She cannot, if she would, 
keep it in darkness. It is her.blessed privilege, as well as her 
overwhelming responsibility, to teach it, not only the rudi¬ 
ments of all learning, but the principles of all truth. 

The mother is, at once, the zenith and horizon, the centre 
and the circumference of the little child’s world. All its 
experiences are bounded by her love; its little hopes and fears, 
aims and activities are based on her approval; and her kiss 
and smile bring healing for all pain, and reward for all 
endeavor. The mother must be the confidant and adviser of 
her children under all circumstances. She must sympathize 
with their sorrows, imaginary perhaps, but real to them, and 
rejoice in their successes. She must deplore their failures 
and urge them to renewed effort. She must enter into their 
plays, and often give her best energies to their entertainment. 
She must never relax her efforts to make them graceful as 
well as good, polished without and within. She must, how¬ 
ever weary with the unending round of life’s duties, have 
leisure to help, direct, instruct, restrain, inspire, and sooth her 
children in all the countless contingencies of every day life. 
From infancy to maturity she must instil principles of truth, 
honesty, obedience, and courage; not physical courage alone, 
though that is not to be despised, but that moral quality which 
dares to do right. She must inculcate sentiments of honor, 


THE FAMILY. 


318 

and stimulate self-respect. The individual who does not 
respect himself, will certainly not respect his fellow-men, or 
reverence his God. She must teach them that self-denial is 
the foundation of all virtue, and that love is the keystone in 
the arch of a beautiful life. And while u line upon line, pre¬ 
cept upon precept,” may be employed with good effect, her 
example will do far more. If she can live before their 
eyes a life in which temptations are overcome, passions sup¬ 
pressed, self-interest made subordinate to the good of others, 
and in which the love of God is the mainspring of action, 
then indeed she may look for, and confidently expect, the best 
results. 

Who can measure the influence a mother wields in and 
through her child. She may be training the intellect that 
will, in the future, lead the scientific world. She may be 
moulding the character that will purify the political world; 
or, like the great Martin Luther, withstand the allied hosts of 
Satan, and proclaim, in all theiv purity, the everlasting truths 
of God. But whatever earthly sphere she qualifies and 
inspires her child to fill, she has set in motion u a wave of 
influence that will extend and widen to the eternal shore.” 
It has been said that the mother is the ancestor of all the good 
or evil done by her children, and by the whole line of her 
posterity, down to the world’s end. As the piety of Timothy 
descended to him from his mother Eunice, and his grand¬ 
mother Lois; so the inhuman and blood thirsty Nero, received 
these traits from his mother, whose teaching and example 
made him the incarnation of evil, and the horror of the 
world. 

Characters traced on the sand of the beach when the tide is 
out, are. washed away in a few hours by the returning waves ; 
but impressions made on the soul of a child are indellible, and 
no wave from the river of Time, or tide from the ocean of 
Eternity can wash them away. Solemn thought! What 
mother could bear this burden of responsibility and rightly do 
her part, but for the fact that she has a Divine Helper. 
Her hands w^ould grow weary, her steps falter, and her heart 
fail before the long years of training, with their discourage¬ 
ments and failures were over, did she not have an unfailing 
source of strength. She has the precious assurances of Holy 


TIIE FAMILY. 


319 


Writ, “ Train up a child in the way he should go; and when 
he is old, he will not depart from it.” u Oast thy burden upon 
the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.” And again, u Casting 
all your care upon Him, for he careth for you.” She has the 
inspired declaration, u For the promise is unto you, and to 
your children.” And above all else she has the help of the 
Savior, who, while on earth, was himself the dutiful son of a 
pious mother. 

Sustained by this spiritual help the Christian mother labors 
on year after year, with unwearied devotion and unfailing 
trust, certain that the souls of her children will shine in her 
crown as stars forever and ever. 


MY MOTHER’S BIBLE. 


T HIS book is all that’s left me now— 
Tears will unbidden start— 

With faltering lip and throbbing brow 
I press it to my heart. 

For many generations past, 

Here is our family tree ; 

My mother’s hands this Bible clasped— 
She, dying, gave it me. 

Ah! well do I remember those 
Whose names these records bear, 

Who round the hearthstone used to close, 
After the evening prayer; 

And speak of what these pages said 
In tones, my heart.would thrill; 

Though they are with the silent dead, 

Here are they living still. 

My father read this holy book 
To brothers, sisters, dear; 

How calm was my poor mother’s look, 

Who loved God’s word to hear. 

Her angel face—I see it yet— 

What thronging memories come ! 

Again that little group is met 
Within the halls of home. 





320 


THE FAMILY. 


Thou truest friend man ever knew, 

Thy constancy I’ve tried ; 

When all were false, I found thee true, 
My counsellor and guide. 

The mines of earth no treasures give 
That could this volume buy: 

In teaching me the way to live— 

It taught me how to die ! 


A FATHER’S CHARGE TO HIS SON. 



KEY. HENRY KING, BALTIMORE, 0. 


HE DAYS of David drew nigh that he should die, 
and he charged Solomon, his son, saying : u I go 
the way of all the earth; be thou strong, therefore, 
and show thyself a man, and keep the charge of 
the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his 
statutes and his commandments, and his judgments 
and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of 
Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, whither¬ 
soever thou turnest.” 1. Kings, ii, 1—4. 

u And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy 
father and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing 
mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all 
the imaginations of the thoughts.; if thou seek him, he will be 
found of thee; but if thou forsake him he will cast thee off 
forever.” 1. Chron., xxviii, 9. 

What could be more solemn and impressive than the above 
charge which King David gave to his son Solomon, who was 
about to succeed him on the throne. David had reigned long 
and prosperously over Israel. God had been with him and 
had blessed him. He was now aged and infirm, and knew 
that according to the course of nature he would soon be gath¬ 
ered to his fathers. As a pious and God-fearing man he felt 
like improving the opportunity that presented itself of giving 
a solemn charge to his son, that he might keep the ordinances 
and commandments of the Lord as he had done, that it might 










THE FAMILY. 


321 


be well with the people, and, therefore, called Solomon to him, 
and exhorted him to consider the solemn trust that would be 
committed to him, to develop the highest traits of manhood, 
fear the Lord, and govern the people righteously. If we knew 
nothing more of David than the incident here referred to, this 
would of itself be sufficient to give him an immortality of 
f ame. 

The conduct of David suggests very important lessons, as 
we must also sooner or later die. Death, we are told, is the 
common lot of us all; for it is appointed unto all once to die. 
The king and the peasant, the young and the old, the rich and 
the poor, the learned and the ignorant are all on a level in this 
respect. Hence we should all endeavor to improve the occa¬ 
sion which thus presents itself in giving such counsel and 
admonition to our children and friends, as may be of service to 
them when we are dead and gone to our reward. It has often 
been the case, that a few words spoken by a pious father, or 
mother to their children when about to die, requesting them 
to fear the Lord, and endeavor to meet them in Heaven, have 
been followed with the happiest consequences. Children 
recollect and treasure up the last words of fond parents, and 
regard them as a precious inheritance. And it has often been 
the case, that the last words of dying i riends have been blessed 
of God to the conversion of those who had hitherto resisted all 
the influences brought to bear upon them. 

Death is always to be viewed as a very sad event, separating 
us, as it does, for a time at least, from those to whom we are 
allied by the ties of affection, and with whom we have lived 
very pleasantly, in some instances, for many years. But if we 
have the assurance that those whom we thus leave behind in 
the world will lead pious and godly lives, and follow us to the 
world of bliss when they die, the parting, sad as it is, is stripped 
of much of its gloom, and is associated with a most cheering 
and blessed hope. King David certainly must have felt greatly 
relieved and comforted after he had delivered the above charge 
to Solomon, believing, as he no doubt did, that it would be 
heeded, and that he would govern the people righteously, as he 
had endeavored to do. And Solomon, on the other hand, must 
have regarded such a charge as a rich legacy, coming as it did 
from a pious and loving father. 


322 


THE FAMILY. 


What an example there is here to Christians, and especially to 
Christian parents to improve the occasion which death offers 
to admonish and entreat those whom they leave behind in the 
world to walk in the ways of the Lord, keeping his statutes and 
judgments as they are written in the Bible, that they may 
prosper in their ways, and finally be gathered with the saints 
in the kingdom of God in Heaven. 


PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY. 


REV. F. STRASSNER, 0RRVILLE, OHIO. 


Lo! children are a heritage of the Lord. Psalm cxxvii. 3, 
HO CAN look upon a child without thoughtful 
anxiety ? An existence is begun which no power is 
able to annihilate—an existence which will either 
last forever in the joys of a heavenly home, or be 
banished forever from the presence of the Lord. 
Christian parents recognize their responsibility in 
view of the above fact, They accept the trust 
which God has given them, pressing it to their hearts with the 
prayer that his Almighty arms may be under and about the 
child. Those who have experience in these things, realize 
their inability to perform aright this responsible duty. To 
them the call of Jesus is most cheering, ;t Let them come unto 
me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; ” and trust that with 
divine help, they may be able to perform this duty to God and 
their children. 

On what a slender thread hangs the earthly life of a little 
infant! The law of God and man hold parents responsible 
for this life. God has also given them reason and judgment 
which should be properly exercised, in the trust committed to 
them. As much harm is often done through ignorance, par¬ 
ents should seek the best information available, and be pre¬ 
pared to meet their responsibility. This will do away with 
much of the over-anxious fretting and uneasiness, which are so 
often met with even in Christian homes. 









THE FAMILY. 


323 

The bright little eyes soon become ready to make observa¬ 
tions when the time for parental school begins requiring a 
correct copy at hand for imitation. This is a very critical 
period in the life of the child, the natural tendency being 
toward evil. Their little tricks are often encouraged, only to 
be corrected afterwards by punishment. Are not those parents 
responsible who encourage the evil in the child ? Let the child 
know, as soon as it can understand, that it belongs to God— 
that it was baptized, and has a Savior. Pray with, and for the 
children, and teach them to pray. Thus fortified, they may 
safely go out into the world, and mingle with other children. 
The parents, however, should constantly watch, and keep the 
confidence of their children, so that evil impressions and in¬ 
fluences may not make in-roads upon them. 

The parents must ever remain the instructors and advisors 
of their children, and should study their inclination for future 
usefulness in this world, and encourage them by preparatory 
work. Leisure hours may in this way be occupied with 
pleasure and profit. But do not urge your children to a life- 
work for which they have no inclination or talent; they will 
hold you responsible for missing their calling and disappoint¬ 
ment. Blessed are those parents who are of one mind and 
heart as to their responsibility, and who consider prayerfully 
the best interests of their children. The} 1 ' will surely reap the 
promises of God, and be loved in old age. 

There are instances where pious parents have failed in their 
responsible duties to their children. Ministers’ children are 
often pointed out as instances of such failures. Wherever this- 
is the case, the cause should be looked into, the sin should be 
confessed, and the evil remedied. If the child no longer rec¬ 
ognizes the power and authority of the parents, there is a 
power greater than that of man, an arm that can reach to the 
uttermost. But if our confessions and prayers are sincere, 
the Lord will come to the help of such parents. The reason 
why the children of pious parents are often referred to, and 
pointed out, frequently very unjustly by certain persons, is for 
the purpose of excusing themselves of their own neglects. 
This is a vain comfort. The Lord will hold each one responsi¬ 
ble for his own trust. 

Children are a great care and responsibility, but they are 


324 


THE FAMILY. 


also a great blessing to those who fear God. In the 128th Psalm 
we read : u Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that 
walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine 
hands; happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. 
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house ; 
thy children, like olive plants, round about thy table. Behold, 
that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.” 
Our age has become so fast that the responsibility of marriage 
is in many cases assumed with the irresponsibility of raising 
children. Matrimony has no idea of a home, or, at least, that 
it shall be within as narrow a limit as possible. Society, as in¬ 
terpreted, seems to be the ultimatum. Any thing that will 
obstruct the service of the world, the flesh, and the devil, must 
be banished or suppressed, if it does not suit this society. 
u Good Lord, deliver us from these evils, and bless thy people 
with children, who shall be heirs with us to the everlasting 
home in heaven.” Amen. 


RELATION BETWEEN PARENTS AND CHILDREN. 


REV. D. LANTZ, FORRESTON, ILL. 


HERE IS no misconception so universal as that in 
regard to the relation which exists between parents 
and children. All will agree that it is the duty of 
parents to provide the necessaries of life, and to 
train up their children in the way they should go. 
And it is also acknowledged, in all Christian coun¬ 
tries, that children should obey their parents in the 
Lord. And then by an arbitrary law of purely 
human origin, this relation, together with all 
parental authority, is made to cease when the child is about 
twenty-one years old. A law so devoid of the least shadow of 
any divine sanction, and so directly in opposition to that which 
God has ordained should be discountenanced by all who believe 
the fifth commandment of the decalogue. The child which is 













THE FAMILY. 


325 

a little inclined to disregard the authority of its parents looks 
hopefully in the future and longs for the time when, bylaw, it 
is free from all parental jurisdiction. Such false ideas of the 
family relation create visionary schemes in the mind, which 
have a tendency to alienate the affections and ignore the good 
advice of the parent. One of the greatest ornaments in the 
character of a child is, respect for the name of father and 
mother. 

Marriage, and with it the family relation is the first institu¬ 
tion which God ordained in the garden of Eden at the creation 
of man, and is, therefore, a holy institution, originating in the 
council of the trinity. Such being its origin, it has a deeper 
signification than that of a mere worldly purpose. Several 
branches of the Christian church regard it as a sacrament; 
while this may be correct in so far as the Avord sacrament means 
a sacred oath , it is not correct in the sense in which Protestants 
hold the two sacraments enjoined by Christ, the head of the 
church. And yet while it is incorrect to class it among the 
holy sacraments of the church, it goes very far to show that it 
is calculated to make a solemn impression upon the mind when 
looked at from its divine side. The deep signification and the 
solemn relation of the family could not well receive a greater 
sanctification than that conferred upon it by our Lord in using 
it to set forth and illustrate his church. He seems to take 
delight in calling himself the bridegroom, just as if by that 
position it was regarded an honor to Him, and then the church 
is the bride, she is said to be brought to the king, the bride¬ 
groom, adorned in the raiment of fine needle-work. 

This union between Christ as the bridegroom and the church 
as the bride, is calculated to impress the family relation with 
deep solemnity, and where the marriage is in the Lord, as God 
intends it to be, and the Apostle commands it, the union 
between husband, wife and children is an emblem of Heaven 
itself. The natural, or the church militant, together with the 
entire natural universe is but a visible reflection of the super¬ 
natural. The family in the Lord is a perfect compact, a com¬ 
plete unit and a striking illustration of the prayer of our Lord, 
“That they all may be one, as thou, Father art in me, and I 
in thee, that they also may be one in us.” 

This oneness, for Avhich our Lord prays so fervently, is as 


THE FAMILY. 


326 

indissoluble, when once formed, and so constituted by the 
power of God, as the Godhead itself, and is intended for a 
revelation from God to teach us the nature of the plurality ot 
the persons in the Godhead. Just as the Holy Ghost pro¬ 
ceeded from the Father and the Son, as the active and life- 
giving power in the kingdom of God, although a separate 
person, yet equal with the Father and the Son, and with them 
constituting the Godhead, so that all the actions of the Holy 
Ghost, both in Heaven and upon earth, are the acts of God 
and not simply the acts of one person of the Godhead. 

We have thus in the trinity itself the prototype of the per¬ 
fect oneness, and the holy union of the family relation as 
constituted bv God himself. The child which proceeds from 
the father and the mother, like the Holy Ghost, partakes in 
every respect of the entire nature of the parents, and is con¬ 
sequently equal with the parent. When it is said that the 
Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son, there seems 
to be both a superiority and a priority indicated. This is, 
however, not the case in fact; so there is, also, neither priority 
nor superiority of the parents over the child. The child is 
potentially as old as the parent, neither has the parent any 
power or authority which is not inherent in the child. It is 
therefore extreme folly for the civil authority to enact laws for 
the purpose of regulating an ordinance which was so consti¬ 
tuted by divine authority and ratified in the council of Heaven. 
u What God hath joined together, let-no man put asunder.” 

We, of course, speak thus of such families only as are joined 
together in the Lord. Of these we have some beautiful 
examples during the patriarchal period. Among these holy 
men of old there was no limit to the parental authority, nor 
when the family relation should cease. Then marriages were 
brought about and consummated in the courts of Heaven, and 
were made indissoluble. In those days of patriarchal sim¬ 
plicity when the human family was less contaminated through 
the influence of corrupt legislative enactments, childhood did 
not cease at a certain age. The relation between parent and 
child continued until terminated by death. And if the child 
was married and became the head of a family, this did not 
sever the relation to the parents. Although in Heaven they 
neither marry nor give in marriage, yet as the marriage bond 


THE FAMILY. 


327 

is of divine origin, and is a figure of the union between Christ 
and the church the effects of all those who are married in the 
Lord, like the union of Christ and the church, will reach over 
and continue in Heaven. 


BIRTHDAY-WASHINGTON’S. 


AVING OUTGROWN its habit of apotheosis, the 
world no longer loves to make demi-gods of its 
heroes and benefactors; or perhaps it would be 
better to say that its gratitude, affection, and even 
its reverence, have assumed a more rational 
expression and a familiarity which breeds no con¬ 
tempt. The Plutarch of the new age no longer 
loses himself in the misty maze of morning tradi¬ 
tion, nor, having to write of a modern Caesar or Pericles, does 
he begin by writing of some Theseus or Numa. Our practical 
British or American history even, begins with William the 
Conqueror; and much as he is admired, no miracles are 
related of Alfred the Great. It is fortunate for us, considering 
the utilitarian phases of thought and action to which we have 
accommodated ourselves, that in Washington a homebred 
simplicity of character and much more than the usual 
modicum of common sense, constantly keep down any ten¬ 
dency to epic extravagance in an estimate of the man, 
while at the same time the largeness of his nature is never 
concealed by his outward habiliments and surroundings. 
Too great for familiarity, he was not too great for the nation’s 
love ; and those who describe the dignity of his demeanor do 
not forget to mention the sweetness of his smile. He was by 
nature and education stately in his manners, but every soldier 
in his ragged regiments knew how gracefully he could unbend. 
His was the true courtesy which lends a charm to superiority 
of station by only seeming to forget it. In matters of eti¬ 
quette no man could be more punctilious; yet when his mas- 















328 


THE FAMILY. 


ter of ceremonies so arranged the President’s receptions as to 
throw about him something of the divinity which doth hedge 
a king, Washington, not a little vexed, forbade a repetition of 
details borrowed from royal drawing-rooms ; while, neverthe¬ 
less, he is said to have almost paralyzed by a look some ill-bred 
person who for a wager familiarly touched him on his shoul¬ 
der. No public character of his time, hardly of any other, 
ever and always so carried into his public life the private vir¬ 
tues which keep the world sweet and possible to be lived in. 

Of almost every vice he was incapable. He could not have 
told an untruth to save the cause which he had so much at 
heart. He was scrupulous to a farthing in his money dealings 
with the Congress. His natural temper was exceedingly 
warm, but he had so schooled himself that any exhibition of 
it was rare indeed, and argued strong provocation. He had 
nothing of the Virginian habit of carelessness in his private 
affairs; his hospitality was great, but hospitality never plung¬ 
ed him into insolvency, as it did Jefferson. It is easy and 
pleasant to imagine what his life would have been if the 
exigency of Virginia and then of all the colonies had not 
summoned him from retirement. A high-minded and intelli¬ 
gent country gentleman, a strict yet kind-hearted and emi¬ 
nently just master, an obliging and sociable neighbor, and a 
sensible, useful magistrate, the business of his days would 
have been the administratron of his plantation, and the events 
of his life the vicissitudes of crops. At his birth this seemed 
to be the career in store for him. The peril of the colony 
summoned him first into military service and providentially 
trained him for a soldier in the school of martial adversities. 
He had known the bitterness of defeat; he had experienced 
the perils which compel a commander to decide instantly and 
to act energetically; he had learned the art of husband¬ 
ing limited resources, and he knew precisely of what the 
American militiaman was capable. He brought the strategy 
of surprise, which was so brilliantly exhibited at Trenton, 
from old Indian wars in which he sometimes conquered and 
sometimes was beaten. There was no department of an army 
and no variety of operations offensive or defensive with which 
he had not had some practical familiarity, from the conduct 
of a siege and the ordering of a line of battle down to the 


THE FAMILY. 


329 


minutiae of sutlers and the transaction of commissaries. The 
wisdom of his selection as commander of the colonial forces 
impresses us more forcibly than almost any incident of the 
Revolution. It would have been easy to make a mistake. 
There was no lack in New-England and New-York of distin¬ 
guished military men trained in the French and Indian wars, 
of maturer age and of larger experience, and unquestionably 
the selection of Washington occasioned not a little local jeal¬ 
ousy, which never entirely disappeared, however the result 
may have amply justified the decision of Congress. More 
than the greatness—something of the goodness—of Washing¬ 
ton’s character is demonstrated by the equanimity with which 
he encountered the miserable intrigues which forever dis¬ 
graced so many of his own officers during the progress of the 
war, and sought to snatch from him the sword which, to the 
best of his remarkable ability, he was wielding. Only when 
the history of these treasons shall be honestly written will the 
World know the embarrassments, the discouragements, and 
the danger which he successfully encountered. 

But if the merits of Washington were great, equally great 
has been his reward. Most unwisely forgetting much else, to 
this hour the nation is tenacious of his honorable fame and 
immortal memory. The lapse of a century has not in the 
least abated the love and reverence with which he is regarded. 
Monuments are still erected to perpetuate his achievements, 
and new statues and paintings renew our familiarity with his 
personal appearance; cities and children, streets and ships, 
societies and inns, are still named for him; his biography is 
continually rewritten, while only the sure instinct of popular 
respect saves him from presentation on the stage. He has 
passed thoroughly into history. The immortal names are few, 
but beyond a peradventure his is one of them. When the 
story of Our war for liberty has mellowed into the epic he will 
be the pre-destinate and central figure of our Iliad. Let us 
be grateful that he lived so nearly in our own day and gener¬ 
ation, that something human may still mingle with our rever¬ 
ence, and that above all he is the u first in the hearts of his 
countrymen .”—New York Tribune. 

X 


22 


FAMILY GOVERNMENT—WHAT IS IT? 



T IS not to watch children with a suspicious eye, 
to frown at the outburst of innocent hilarity, to 
suppress their joyous laughs, and to mould them 
into melancholy little models of octogenarian 
gravity. And when they have been in fault, it is 
not to punish them on account of the personal in¬ 
jury that you have chanced to suffer in consequence 
of their fault, while disobedience, unattended by inconveni¬ 
ence to yourself, passes without rebuke. 

Nor is it to overwhelm the little culprit with angry words; 
to stun him with a deafening noise; to call him by hard 
names, which do not express his misdeed ; to load him with epi¬ 
thets, which w r ould be extravagant, if applied to a fault of ten¬ 
fold enormity ; or to declare, with passionate vehemence, that 
he is the worst child in the world, and destined for the* 
gallows. 

But it is to watch anxiously for the first risings of sin, and to 
repress them ; to counteract the .earliest workings of selfish¬ 
ness ; to repress the first beginning of rebellion against lawful 
authority ; to teach an implicit, and unquestioning, and cheer¬ 
ful obedience to the will of the parent, as the best preparation 
for a future allegiance to the requirements of the civil magis¬ 
trate and the laws of the great Ruler and Father in heaven. 

It is to punish a fault because it is sinful, and contrary to 
the command of God, without reference to whether it may, or 
may not have been productive of immediate injury to the 
parent or others. 

It is to reprove with calmness and composure, and not with 
angry irritation—in a few words, fitly chosen, and not with a 
torrent of abuse; to punish as often as you threaten, and to 
threaten only w T hen you intend, and can remember to perform ; 
to sav what you mean, and infallibly do as you say. 

It is to govern your family, as in the sight of Him who gave 
you authority, and who will reward your strict fidelity with 
such blessings as he bestowed on Abraham, or punish your 
criminal neglect with such curses as he visited on Eli.— 
Mother's Treasury. 










THE FAMILY. 


331 


THE OLD ARM CHAIR. 


I LOVE it! I love it! And who shall dare 
To chide me for loving that old arm chair? 

I’ve treasured it long as a sainted prize, 

I’ve bedewed it with tears, I’ve embalmed it with sighs; 
’Tis bound by a thousand bands to my heart: 

Not a tie will break, not a link will start, 

Would you learn the spell?—a mother sat there ! 

And a sacred thing is that old arm chair. 

In childhood’s hour I lingered near 
The hallow’d seat with list’ning ear ; 

And gentle words would mother give, 

To fit me to die, and teach me to live. 

She told me shame would never betide, 

With truth for my creed, and God for my guide; 

She taught me to lisp my earliest prayer. 

As I knelt beside that old arm chair. 

I sat and watched her many a day, 

When her eyes grew dim, and her locks were gray. 

And I almost worshipp’d her when she smiled, 

And turn’d from her Bible to bless her child. 

Years roll’d on, but the last one sped— 

My idol was shattered, my earth-star fled; 

I learned how much the heart can bear, 

When I saw her die in the old arm chair. 

’Tis past; ’tis past; but I gaze on it now 
With quivering breath and throbbing brow ; 

’Twas there she nursed me, ’twas there she died, 

And mem’ry flows with lava tide. 

Say it is folly, and deem me weak, 

While the scalding drops start down my cheek; 

But I love it, I love it, and cannot tear 
My soul from a mother’s old arm chair. 


—Eliza Cook. 



THE HOME CONVERSATION. 


EW THINGS are more important in a home than 
its conversation, and yet there are few things to 
which less deliberate thought is given. The power 
to communicate good which lies in the tongue is 
simply incalculable. It can impart knowledge; 
utter words that will shine like lamps in darkened 
hearts; speak kindly sentences that will comfort sorrow, or 
cheer despondency; breathe out thoughts that will arouse and 
quicken heedless souls ; even whisper the secret of life-giving 
energy to spirits that are dead. 

“Only a word, but ’twas spoken in love, 

With a whispered prayer to the Lord above ; . 

And the angels in heaven rejoiced once more, 

For a new-born soul entered in by the door.” 

The good we could do in our homes with our tongues, if we 
would .use them to the utmost limit of their capacity, it is sim¬ 
ply impossible to compute. Why should so much power for 
blessing be wasted % Especially, why should we ever pervert 
these gifts and use our tongues to do evil, to give pain, to scat¬ 
ter seeds of bitterness ? It is a sad thing when a child is born 
dumb ; but it were better far to be dumb and never to have 
the gift of speech, than, having that gift, to employ it in 
speaking only sharp, unloving, or angry words. 

“ Only a word ! 

But sharp, oh ! sharper than a two-edged sword, 

To pierce and sting and scar 
The heart whose peace a breath of flame could mar.” 

The home conversation, pre-eminently, should be loving. 
Home is the place for warmth and tenderness, yet there is in 
many families a great dearth of kind words. In some cases 
there is no conversation at all worthy of the name. There are 
no affectionate greetings in the morning, or hearty good-nights 
at parting when the evening closes. The meals are eaten in 
silence. There are no fireside chats over the events and inci¬ 
dents of the day. A stranger might mistake the home for a 












THE FAMILY. 


333 

deaf and dumb institution, or for a hotel where strangers were 
together only for a passing season. In other cases, it were 
better if silence did reign; for there are words of miserable 
strife and shameful quarreling heard from day to day. Hus¬ 
band and wife who vowed at the marriage altar to cherish the 
one the other until death, keep up an incessant petty strife of 
words. Parents who are commanded in the holy word not to 
provoke their children to wrath lest they be discouraged, but 
to bring them up in the nurture of the Lord, scarcely ever 
speak gently and in tenderness to them. They seem to imag¬ 
ine that they are not u governing ” their children unless 
they are perpetually scolding at them. They fly into passions 
against them at the smallest irritation. They issue their com¬ 
mands to them in words and tones which would better suit 
the despot of a petty savage tribe than the head of a Christian 
household. It is not strange that under such “ nurture the 
children, instead of dwelling together in unity, with loving 
speech, only wrangle and quarrel, speaking only bitter words 
in their intercourse with one another. That there are many 
homes of just this type, it is idle to deny. That prayer is olfered 
morning and evening in some of these families only makes 
the truth sadder; for it is mockery for the members of the 
household to rise together from their knees only to begin an¬ 
other day of strife and bitterness. 

Nothing in the home life needs to be more carefully watched 
and more diligently cultivated than the conversation. It 
should be imbued with the spirit of love. No bitter word 
should ever be spoken. The language of husband and wife, 
in their intercourse together, should always be tender. Anger 
in word or even in tone should never be suffered. Chiding 
and fault-finding should never be permitted to mar the sacred¬ 
ness of their speech. The warmth and tenderness of their 
hearts should flow out in every word that they speak to each 
other. As parents, too, in their intercourse with their chil¬ 
dren, they should never speak, save in words of Christ-like 
gentleness. It is a fatal mistake to suppose that children’s 
lives can grow up into beauty in an atmosphere of strife. 
Harsh, angry words are to their sensitive souls what frosts are 
to the flowers. To bring them up in the nurture of the Lord is 
to bring them up as Christ himself would, and surely that 


334 


THE FAMILY. 


would be with infinite tenderness. The blessed influence of 
loving speech, day after day and month after month, it is im¬ 
possible to estimate. It is like the falling of warm spring 
sunshine and rain on the garden. Beauty and sweetness of 
character are likely to come from such a home. 

“ We have known a word more gentle 
Than the breath of summer air; 

In a listening heart it nestled, 

And it lived forever there. 

Not the beating of its prison 
Stirred it ever, night or day ; 

Only with the heart’s last throbbing 
Could it fade away.” 

But home conversation needs more than love to give it its 
full influence. It ought to be enriched by thought. The 
Savior’s warning against idle words should be remembered. 
Every wise-hearted parent will seek to train his household to 
converse on subjects that will yield instruction and tend 
towards refinement. The table affords an excellent opportu¬ 
nity for this kind of education. Three times each day the 
family gathers there. It is a place for cheerfulness. Simply 
on hygienic grounds meals should not be eaten in silence. 
Bright, cheerful conversation is an excellent sauce, and a 
prime aid to digestion. If it prolongs the meal and thus 
appears to take too much time out of the busy day, it will add 
to the years in the end by increased healthfullness and length¬ 
ened life. In any case, however, something is due to refine¬ 
ment, and still more is due to the culture of one’s home-life. 
The table should be made the center of the social life of the 
household. There all should appear at their best. Gloom 
should be banished. The conversation should be bright and 
sparkling. It should consist of something besides dull and 
threadbare common-places. The idle gossip of the street is 
not a worthy theme for such hallowed moments. 

The conversation of the table should be of a kind to interest 
all the members of the family; hence it should vary to suit 
the age and intelligence of those who form the circle. The 
events and occurrences of each day may with profit be spoken 
of and discussed, and now that the daily newspaper contains 
so full and faithful a summary of the world's doings and hap- 


THE FAMILY. 


335 

penings, this is easy. Each one may mention the event which 
has specially impressed him in reading. Bits of humor should 
always be welcome, and all wearisome recital, and dull, unin¬ 
teresting discussion should be avoided. 

Table-talk may be enriched and at the same time the intel¬ 
ligence of all the members of a family may be advanced, by 
bringing out at least one new fact at each meal, to be added 
to the common fund of knowledge. Suppose there are two or 
three children at the table, varying in their ages from five to 
twelve. Let the father or the mother have some particular 
subject to introduce during the meal which will be both inter¬ 
esting and profitable to the younger members of the family. 
It may be some historical incident, or some scientific fact, or 
the life of some distinguished man. The subject should not be 
above the capacity of the younger people for whose especial 
benefit it has been introduced, nor should the conversation be 
overladen by attempting too much at one time. One single 
fact, clearly presented and firmly impressed, is better than 
whole chapters of information poured out in a confused jargon 
on minds that cannot remember any part of it. A little 
thought will show the rich outcome of a system like this if faith¬ 
fully followed through a series of years. If but one fact is 
presented at every meal, there will be a thousand things 
taught to the children in a year. If the subjects are wisely 
chosen, the fund of knowledge communicated in this way will 
be of no inconsiderable value. A whole system of education 
lies in this suggestion ; for, besides the communication of im¬ 
portant knowledge, the habit of mental activity is stimulated, 
interest is awakened in lines of study and research which may 
afterwards be followed out, tastes are improved, while the 
effect upon the family is everlasting and refining. 

It may be objected that such a system of table-talk could 
not be conducted without much thought and preparation on 
the part of parents. But if the habit once were formed, 
and the plan properly introduced, it would be found compara¬ 
tively easy for parents of ordinary intelligence to maintain it. 
Books are now prepared in great numbers giving important 
facts in small compass. Then there are encyclopaedias and 
dictionaries of various kinds. The news papers contain every 
week paragraphs and articles of great value in such a course. A 


336 


THE FAMILY. 


wise use of scissors and paste will keep scrap-books well tilled 
with materials which can readily be made available. It will 
be necessary to think and plan for such a system, to choose 
the topics in advance, and to become familiar with the facts. 
This work might be shared by both parents, and thus be easy 
for both. That it will cost time and thought and labor ought 
not to be an objection ; for is it not worth almost any cost to 
secure the benefits and advantages which would result from 
such a system of home instruction ? 

These are hints only of the almost infinite possibilities of 
good which lie in the home conversation. That so little is 
realized in most cases when so much is possible, is one of the 
saddest things about our current life. It may be that these 
suggestions may stimulate, in some families at least, an 
earnest search after something better than they have yet 
found in their desultory and aimless conversational habits. 
Surely there should be no home in .which, amid all the light 
talk that flies from busy tongues, time is not found every day 
to say at least one word that shall be instructive, suggestive, 
elevating or at least in some way helpful .—Sunday School 


FAMILY READING. 


REV.*GE0. w. williard, d. d., tiffin, 0. 


DESIRE FOR knowledge is common to man as 
may be inferred from the inquisitiveness of chil¬ 
dren. Lord Bacon, when but a lad, asked so many 
questions about the origin and relation of things 
that Queen Elizabeth was wont to call him the 
little philosopher. Any one that has been much 
about children, knows how very inquisitive they 
are and how many questions they ask which are 
hard to answer. As no parent has the time to answer all the 
questions which the inquisitive nature of children leads them 
to ask, and as it would be wrong to suppress their desire for 


Times. 









THE FAMILY. 


337 

knowledge, books become as indispensable in every household 
as articles of furniture. If required to make choice between 
the two, we would say, far better do without statuary and 
painting, without costly articles of dress and furniture, and 
without the luxuries of life than to dwarf and famish the mind 
by giving it no books to read or study. 

As the body needs wholesome and nutritive food in order 
that it may grow and develop its strength, so the mind in like 
manner needs that which will awaken its latent powers and 
energies. To withhold either from our children in the forma¬ 
tive period of life is a wrong which no one has a right to inflict 
upon them, from which we may infer that it becomes as much 
the duty of parents to provide food for the mind as for the 
body, a truth, which, if generally admitted, is poorly prac¬ 
ticed, as it is no uncommon thing to find the table in many 
families well supplied with every article of food necessary to 
satisfy the appetite, whilst there is an almost entire absence 
of everything calculated to feed and nourish the mind. Where 
this is the case it is easy to see that the natural and inevitable 
consequence is the development of one side of our nature to 
the neglect and injury of the other. 

We have no fault to find with those parents who rear their 
children to habits of industry and toil. There is nothing 
degrading in labor. The body needs healthy exercise as well 
as food in order that it may become fitted for the service for 
which it is intended. Children reared in idleness seldom 
amount to much in after-life. Those parents, therefore, who 
teach their children physical energies, are to be commended, 
if they are equally anxious and solicitous to cultivate in them 
habits of study and intellectuality. Where the physical and 
intellectual meet and develop side by side, we have a higher 
type of manhood than where this is not the case, which, per¬ 
haps, affords a reason why so many of our most distinguished 
men arise from the common and ordinary walks of life. The 
natural effect of luxury and idleness is to produce weakness 
and effeminacy, while that of labor and toil is to produce 
strength and activity. 

The conclusion then to which we come, is that every family 
needs and should have a library, whether large or small, so as 
to cultivate a taste for reading and intellectual improvement, 


THE FAMILY. 


338 

the want of which must always be regarded a serious defect. 
Those who have no access to books and read but little, must be 
narrow and contracted in their views, knowing only what 
conies within the circle of their own observation. 

But which of all the multitude of books and periodicals that 
are published and offered for sale are we to select and intro¬ 
duce into the family ? This is a question often difficult to 
determine, as the number of those which possess decided 
merit and value is largely in excess of the means at hands 
for this purpose. 

There are some books and periodicals which no family can 
well do without, as is the case with the Bible, the hymn book, 
catechism, and the paper of the church with which the family 
stands connected, as these are necessary to the development 
of Christian character and usefulness. The same is true of 
certain secular papers and of books pertaining to an element¬ 
ary education. What and how many books and periodicals 
besides those which are actually necessary should find a place 
in the family library and on the parlor table will depend 
largely on the means at hand for this specific purpose. Where 
the outlay may be large, more can and ought to be purchased 
than where this is not the case, but in no instance should there 
be an entire absence of reading matter in the family, as it 
would be far better to exercise the strictest economy and self- 
denial in other respects than to have no intellectual food in 
the house. As well let the barrel be without Hour, and the 
table without butter, as to have no books or papers to read. 

As life, however, is very short, and the books and period¬ 
icals that may be read with profit almost without number, 
great care should be exercised in the selection of such as are 
best calculated to cultivate a taste for reading and general 
edification. Such books and papers as have a decidedly bad 
tendency, as is unfortunately the case with much of the litera¬ 
ture of the day, should be, as scrupulously kept out of the 
family, as that which would impair the health of the body. 
Parents cannot be too watchful and particular in this respec t 
as the reading of bad literature is without doubt one of the 
fruitful sources of the profligacy and degeneracy of the age. 

Such books as have no decided literary merit or moral char¬ 
acter, should be passed by, as life is too short and time too 


THE FAMILY. 


339 

precious to be spent in doing that which will be of no positive 
benefit, especially as there are many books within the reach 
of all, the reading of which is always healthful and invigorating. 

As the tastes and dispositions of the different members of 
the family vary, one having a predilection for poetry, another 
for history, biography, or the natural sciences, there should be 
a corresponding variety in the books and periodicals pur¬ 
chased, so each may find that which is most congenial and 
interesting. A wise and thoughtful parent will always have 
respect to this, even though it may occasion a greater outlay 
and expenditure of funds. 

Where there is little taste for reading great pains should be 
taken to cultivate what little there is by the purchase of such 
books and periodicals as are of special interest, which should 
occasionally be read in the presence of all the members of the 
family, after which the advantages resulting therefrom should 
be pointed out for the encouragement of each. Occasional 
presents of books on subjects in which children have special 
interest, has often been attended with happy results, as it 
seems natural for them to read what has been given them as a 
token of affection and merit. 

Upon a subject of such broad and general interest as family 
reading, the most we can do in an article like this is to call 
special attention to it in the hope that those who may chance 
to read it, will think upon it, and devise such measures as in 
their judgment will be best calculated to promote a general 
taste for reading among all classes of society, the result of 
which will be decidedly beneficial, as a reading people will 
always be a thinking people, an intelligent and prosperous 
people. 


COURTESY IN THE FAMILY. 


REV. J. A. NOVINGER, NEW BEDFORD, 0. 


HE Apostle Peter after describing the duties of 
the wife to her husband, and the husband’s duty 
to his wife, exhorts his brethren to u be ye all of 
one mind, having compassion one of another; love 
as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.” 

Reader, whoever you may be, whether a father 
or mother, a sister or brother, the apostle’s words, 
if obeyed in their true spirit, will prove more val¬ 
uable than silver or gold, for in them there is great reward. 

Courtesy is a Christian virtue, and should be planted in the 
same garden with faith, hope, and charity, and cultivated as 
carefully as the three graces just named. 

The family is the best garden, and the children the best soil 
in which to grow such beautiful flowers, which bloom all the 
year in this world, and forever in the Paradise of God: For 
is it not written by the wisest of men, “Train up a child in 
the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart 
from it ? ” And did not David pray, “ That our sons may be 
as plants grown up in their youth ; that our daughters may be 
as corner stones, polished after the simlitude of a palace?” 
To this prayer of the Psalmist all who have sons and daught¬ 
ers will respond with a sincere Amen. For what father or 
mother would not like to see their sons and daughters grow 
up in the way described ? Brothers are anxious that their 
sisters shall be as corner stones, polished and refined for the 
best place in the best palaces, and sisters are even more 
anxious that their brothers shall grow up as plants in their 
youth, and become blessings and ornaments in society. 

Since, then, we are all of one mind in respect to this beau¬ 
tiful theme, let us walk out into the garden of our father 
among the flowers. Parents, bring your children along, for 
we shall find fragrant flowers of rarest beauty. And as it is 
in the cool of the day we may hear the voice of the Lord 
God, who will courteously receive us, explain many of the 











THE FAMILY. 341 

flowers to us, and permit us to carry them home and cultivate 
them in our own gardens. 

The first flower we come to is Faith. All Christians have 
it in their families ; but in many it is almost dead, and bears 
no fruit. But here it is so thrifty and strong that it can easily 
do all that Paul in the Episde to the Hebrews says it has done 
in the past. And what a rich cluster of graces, such as virtue, 
knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kind¬ 
ness, and charity is before us, like the pomegranates, and figs, 
and grapes of Eshcol. 

As we proceed, we come to another lovely flower. What is 
this called ? This is hope, blessed hope, the child of patience 
and experience; the plant by which we are saved, because it 
maketh not ashamed, since the love of God is shed abroad in 
our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 

We next come to charity, the fairest plant ever seen by 
man or angel, which Paul immortalizes in the thirteenth 
chapter of his Epistle to the Corinthians. But right here by 
the side of charity is another plant which seems as modest as 
the violet, as lovely as the rose, and as pure and sweet as the 
lily of the valley. What is it? No one, it seems, can tell. 
Let us, therefore, call the gardener, to come and explain its 
name and qualities. He comes and requests the parents to 
call their children to come and see this flower also, and learn 
how valuable it is in every calling in life. What did he call 
it? I hear the children ask in voices as sweet as the angels 
have, and the gardener and the parents answer in concert, 
u Courtesy,” in a voice more charming than sirens ever sung, 
and as the melody lingers upon the air, and seems loath to 
leave a place so heaven-like, courtesy bows and smiles, and all 
the other flowers in the garden become more fragrant and beau¬ 
tiful than before, and the Lord of the garden says, “My courte¬ 
ous little beauty, yonder by the side of charity, is making a very 
eden out of my garden.” Since courtesy has taken her place 
by the side of charity and began to bloom, all the other plants 
and flowers have become more attractive. The sun shines 
more gloriously than ever before, the birds are happier among 
the trees, the heavens declare the glory of God; and the 
firmament showeth his handy work as never before. Myself, 
wife, and children have studied and admired that polite, com- 


342 


THE FAMILY. 


plaisant, well-bred, and civil little courteous Nymph of a 
plant until we have been changed even more than all the rest 
around this wonderful flower. Indeed it seems to be a very 
pool of Bethesda, which is always moved by some angel, so 
that whoever is near enough to look upon and study the 
flower is cured of any deformity of speech or manners which 
may be a hindrance in life; a pool of Siloam, where we may 
wash and receive sight to see how to behave ourselves in all 
places, and at all times. Parents, take a sip of this courtesy 
plant home with you, place it near your charity plant, and 
cultivate it with care. Bring your children around it in the 
morning, at noon, and in the evening, and as they, day by 
day, muse upon and behold the courteous little flower, you 
will see your sons and your daughters grow up in their youth 
fit for corner stones in society the most cultured and refined. 

“ So gently blending, courtesy and art, 

That wisdom’s lips seem’d borrowing friendship’s heart.” 

“A smile for one of mean degree, 

A courteous bow for one of high, 

So modulated both that each 
Saw friendship in his eye.” 


HOME MEMORIES. 



REV. JOHN D. NEFF, B. A., F0ST0RIA, 0. 


O WORD in the English language is so sweet and 
full of meaning as the little word home. We all 
know its significance. We can never escape its 
influence, nor seldom do we desire to forget its 
hallowed associations. Home is the common birth¬ 
place of humanity, and the nursery of society. It 
is the magazine whence the strong man obtains 
equipment for the grand struggle of life. It is the 
retreat to which all delight to repair as the sun of their days 
£oes down. 









THE FAMILY. 


343 


“ Home is the resort 

Of love, of joy, of peace and plenty; where, 

Supporting and supported, polished friends 
And dear relations mingle into bliss.” 

The thought of the immortal bard of “ Home, Sweet 
Home” is the general sentiment of all mankind : 

“ There is no place like home.” 

Everybody understands this grand hymn, and applauds and 
weeps when it is sung in the spirit. It recalls a thousand inci¬ 
dents of that sacred spot, named home. 

A place to which one is attached by so many tender and yet 
strong cords cannot soon be forgotten. Its memories are last¬ 
ing. The impressions first received are generally of the home. 
They are taken in the cradle, at a mother’s knee, during the 
early and tender years of life, and are indelibly stamped upon 
our being. They are the last to be forgotten. The aged man 
of four score years remembers yet his childhood days; and 
even when his physical powers fail, his mind becomes impaired 
and a second period of childhood occurs, he ever and anon 
recalls wholly or in part a scene or incident of the home of 
his birth. The young man, who leaves the parental roof and 
mingles with the world, however gay and attractive apparently 
his present life may be, cannot forget entirely the surround¬ 
ings, teachings and friendships of home. The father at his 
office, on the tented field, in foreign parts on sea or land, will 
ever be carried back in mind to the family hearth-stone and 
altar. The memory of his home is so constant that it gives 
direction and tone to every action. Under all circumstances 
or periods of life the thoughts of home are with us. It does 
seem that they will extend beyond the bounds of time and still 
exist in eternity. They will be everlasting. 

The memories of home are also dear. We treasure them as 
precious things. They occupy the safest and best chambers 
of the mind. It is no wonder they are so enduring. Besides 
they relate to the dearest spot on earth, to our best friends 
and to the most important moments of our life. Home mem¬ 
ories include all that adds worth to brick or mortar, garden or 
orchard, farm or fireside—to the exterior surroundings of 
home. They comprehend father and mother, sister and brother, 
sons and daughters, friends and lovers. The associations of 


344 


THE FAMILY. 


these in the true home cannot he otherwise than pleasant. 
Their remembrance will be sweet. The days spent at the old 
homestead were important as the character was then in pro¬ 
cess of formation and the preparation for life’s struggle was 
made. Present achievements and anticipated pleasure are 
enjoyable, but no less interesting and pleasurable are the mem¬ 
ories of our early home life and apprenticeship. 

How powerful is the remembrance of home! It is as strong 
as it is lasting. It is as potent in the interest of evil as of 
good. The aims of a worldly life may only be the resultant 
of the home influence. The memory of bad examples and 
teachings, these may have strengthened and nerved the crim¬ 
inal’s hand. However, home memories are powerful for good 
as well. They control our actions and lives. They restrain our 
hands from evil, and encourage our hearts to noble purposes 
and deeds. The thoughts of a mother’s parting prayer and of 
her soft hand on his head in blessing before her spirit took its 
flight, or the son left the home, has ahvavs been of great value. 
Many a son has thereby been led to live in the spirit of such 
a prayer, and to die in the happy realization of such a bless¬ 
ing. Neither the stirring appeals of the pulpit, nor the counsel 
of earnest companions have been as efficient in bringing the 
strong man to the Savior’s feet as the memory of a sainted 
mother. Who can measure the influence of the home altar 
at which parents and children together bowed from day to day 
in worship unto God % Who will regret the moments spent in 
the true home, at a mother’s knee, or in counsel with an hon¬ 
ored father ? The recollection of these things will never loose 
its power. Already, in the present life, in part, the efficiency 
of home memories is seen, but eternity alorf'e will reveal in 
fullness their height and depth, their length and breadth. 

Home-builders, you are building not only for time, but for 
eternity. Memory will ever keep fresb, through succeeding 
generations—how well you will build. Your children and your 
children’s children will rise up and call you blessed if your 
home shall send forth many pure and sweet and fragrant mem¬ 
ories— u The memory of a well-spent life is eternal.” 


HOME TRAINING FOR CHILDREN. 

A®, 


OME PEOPLE, no doubt, have become discour¬ 
aged and disheartened, that they have not seen 
their children brought to the Savior as early as 
they expected. I do not know anything that has 
encouraged me more in laboring for children than 
my experience in the inquiry room. In working 
there, I have found that those who had religious 
training, whose parents strove early to lead them to Christ, 
have been the easiest to lead towards him. I always feel as if 
I had a lever to work with when I know that a man has been 
taught by a godly father and mother, even if his parents died 
when he was young. The impression that they died praying 
for him has always a great effect through life. I find that such 
men are always so much easier reached, and though we may 
not live to see all our prayers answered, and all our children 
brought into the fold, yet we should teach them diligently, and 
do it in love. There is where a good many make a mistake 
by not teaching their children in love—by doing it coldly or 
harshly. Many send them off to read the Bible by themselves 
for punishment. Why, I would put my hand in the fire before 
I would try to teach them in that way. 

If we teach our children as we ought to do, instead of Sunday 
being the dreariest, dullest, tiresomest day of the w r eek to 
them, it will be the brightest, happiest day of the whole seven. 
What we want to do is to put religious truths - before our chil¬ 
dren in such an attractive form that the Bible will be the 
most attractive of books to them. Children want the same 
kind of food and truth that we do ; only we must cut it up a 
little finer, so that they can eat it. I have great respect for a 
father and mother, who have brought up a large family, and 
trained them so that they have come out on the Lord’s side. 
Sometimes mothers are discouraged and do not think they 
have so large a sphere to do good in as we have, but a mother, 
who has brought up a large family to Christ, need not consider 
her life a failure. I know one who has brought up ten sons, 



23 







346 


THE FAMILY. 


all Christians; do you think her life has been a failure? Let 
us teach our children diligently in season, and out of season. 
We might train them that they shall be converted so early, 
they can’t tell when they were converted. 

I do not believe, as some people seem to think, that they 
have got to wander off into sin first, so that they may be 
brought back to Christ. Those who have been brought up in 
that way from their earliest childhood, do not have to spend 
their whole life in forgetting some old habit. 

Let us be encouraged in bringing our children to Christ-— 
D. L. Moody. 


HOME INSTRUCTION. 


BOYE ALL things, teach children what their life 
is. It is not breathing, moving, playing, sleeping, 
simply. Life is a battle. All thoughtful people 
see it so. A battle between good and evil from 
childhood. 

Good influences, drawing us up toward the 
divine; bad influences, drawing us down to the 
brute. Midway we stand, between the divine and the brute. 
How to cultivate the good side of our nature is the greatest 
lesson of life to teach. 

Teach children that they lead these two lives: the life with¬ 
out and the life within; and that the inside must be pure in 
the sight of God, as well as the outside in the sight of men. 

There are five means of learning. These are: observation, 
reading, conversation, memory, reflection. Educators, some¬ 
times, in their anxiety to secure a wide range of studies, do 
not, sufficiently, impress upon their scholars the value of 
memory. Now, our memory is one of the most wonderful 
gifts God has bestowed upon us; and one of the most myste¬ 
rious. Take a tumbler and pour water into it; by-and-by you 
can pour no more; it is full. It is not so with the mind. You 
cannot fill it full of knowledge in a whole life-time. Pour in 









THE FAMILY. 


347 

all you please, and it still thirsts for more. Remember this: 
Knowledge is not what you learn, but what you remember. 

It is not what you eat, but what you digest, that makes you 
grow. 

It is not the money you handle, but that you keep, that 
makes you rich. 

It is not what you study, but what you remember and 
reflect upon, that makes you learned. One more suggestion : 
Above all things else, strive to fit the children in your charge 
to be useful men and women. Men and women you may be 
proud of in after-life. 

While they are young, teach them that far above physical 
courage, which will lead them to face the cannon’s mouth— 
above wealth, which would give them farms and houses, and 
bank stocks and gold, is moral courage. That courage by 
which they will stand fearlessly, frankly, firmly for the right. 
Every man or woman who dares to stand for the right when 
evil has its legions, is the true moral victor in this life, and in 
the land beyond the stars.— Hon. Schuyler Colfax. 


HOME INFLUENCES. 



REV. A. HENRY, A. M., CANAL WINCHESTER 0. 


HE HOME is a little kingdom in itself, the mem¬ 
bers of which have a common interest in its wel¬ 
fare and peace, and each brings to its altar 
something that introduces or strengthens its good 
cheer, or mars and poisons that which already 
exists. In this little realm develop and unfold 
wonderful powers. Here are formed immortal 
characters, receiving daily colorings that give grace 
and beauty, or neglecting stains that mar and 
poison, not only for time, but for an endless existence. With¬ 
out doubt there is far more embraced in this subject than 
many are disposed to admit. You need only observe the con¬ 
duct, manners and ways of children to know at once what the 
inner life of their home is. The child in its open free life is 













348 


THE FAMILY. 


no hypocrite. It is a true exponent of the character and quality 
of the life of home—it is its unbiased commentary. The 
child’s character is the public proclamation of the private life 
of the family circle. The life and spirit of every home is the 
atmosphere in which the child constantly lives, it feels every 
power and force of its home, and it would be passing strange 
if living and unfolding under such circumstances it would not 
receive most lasting impressions therefrom. Even the granite 
rock is worn by the constant dropping of water upon its sur¬ 
face. How much more, therefore, is the child’s character 
.influenced and moulded by the constant pressure of the home 
life, especially since its nature is so pliable, and it is ever in 
its character reaching out after new impressions and is so very 
imitative in its disposition. The child is thus daily gathering 
from the never-ending supply of home influences, its brick and 
mortar, u its hay, wood and stubble,” and building its own 
character for time and eternity. After all, the deeds and acts 
of our maturer years are, generally speaking, the fruits of the 
planting of childhood’s days, so that the responsibilities resting 
upon parents are very weighty. The old truism is full of 
force, saying: “From the home to school, from school to the 
church, from the church to Heaven.” But whilst this is the 
golden pathway of life, how many parents live so utterly 
neglectful of the best and highest interests of the children. 
It is only too manifest that to the majority the future, for 
weal or woe, has not its. proper weight or controling influence 
in shaping the life and character of those so near and dear to 
us. The moral and spiritual life of to-day is the true back¬ 
ground of the character of the next generation. How very 
important that the powerful influences of home should be of 
such a quality that our sons and daughters may be fully 
equipped for life’s great conflict. The power of the truth as 
felt in the home, as the rich dews of Heaven constantly drop¬ 
ping around the family circle into the young and tender hearts, 
is the master wheel that moves on and up to lasting good, 
both in church and state. A nation’s morality is never above 
the average moral sense of the citizens of the families. Much 
is written—more spoken on the subject of the foul blots of our 
national life, of our social customs, habits and practices, and 
we, who pretend to have a holy horror of all kinds of wicked- 


THE FAMILY. 


349 


ness, berate those soundly who are its faithful votaries. But 
dear reader, can you justly blame the fire for burning when 
the fuel is dry and very combustible—can you with any right 
blame the sun-beams for warming the earth and making it 
bloom and blossom? Can you blame the water for seeking 
its level ? Until you can, do not be too severe on the evil doer 
until you see where the blame lies. We speak of the evils of 
intemperance and the curse of gambling in all its forms, but 
who is to blame ? The hog that loves to wallow is not of 
choice going to forsake the mire. And the inebriate will clutch 
as with death-grip the flowing bowl, and the gaming table will 
hold spell-bound all its devotees. I lay the blame of the 
existence of these wide-spread evils at the door of those who 
pretend to abhor them. Do we not lack the moral courage of 
our convictions on these all important questions ? If all Chris¬ 
tians would work together and lay aside all selfishness and 
stand forth boldly along the line of truth, right, and the highest 
good of all, they could throttle these vices and make our law 
makers wise and our laws a terror to evil doers. And the 
influences of our homes have no small part to play in prepar¬ 
ing a generation who will boldly stand for right and truth, 
and lift the nation into a higher plain of life. The Spanish 
have a saying, that u an ounce of mother is worth a pound of 
clergy, and an ounce of life a ton of professionso that the 
home is here presented as the place where the true estimate 
put upon everything is brought to light, and impresses for good 
or ill all its occupants. The experience of that nation taught 
it the value and influence of the mother in the formation of 
the character of the nation. The elements of honesty, sobriety, 
industry, and a fine moral sense in the people not only secure 
economy in government, but also guarantee peace, happiness 
and contentment. It does not require a palatial residence to 
make a good home in its highest sense. Only too frequently 
such ornamented structures are the very prisons of misery 
wretchedness and moral death, whilst the unpretending cottage 
or cabin is the centre of good cheer and contentment, and 
becomes a power for good. Examples of this are seen on all 
sides, where the sons of the poor become leaders in the church 
and in national affairs, as in the case of our late lamented Presi¬ 
dent, in whose humble home there was such a sweet atmos- 


THE FAMILY. 


350 

phere, such a pure, elevated moral tone that he grew up at its 
altar one of the grandest of American citizens—surely the 
grandest public character of American statesmen—one who was 
pure gold, and carried his Christian convictions into all official 
positions, by which he gave proof to the world of the purity 
of his life and intentions. It was he who declared u character 
to be both a result and a cause—a result of influences—a joint 
product of nature and nurture , and a cause of results.” 0, 
that there were only many more such homes as his, so that the 
coming generations might be just as grand in character and 
great in power for good. I lift my voice up in pleading tones 
to the parents of our land for more consecrated homes, for a 
more godly walk, life and conversation, where under the 
most wholesome influences the rising generation may be 
trained for God and humanity. Then will our sons and daugh¬ 
ters stand like polished columns in the church and state, and 
be a regenerating medium to lift up our nation to that grandeur 
whose blessedness consists in u God being the Lord.” I am 
persuaded that the judgment day alone will reveal the fearful 
and sad results of the many home neglects, whereby many 
souls have been fattened for crime and the criminals end, death 
and ruin. Only too many parents fail to realize the responsibil¬ 
ities resting upon them, as touching the present and future well 
being of their children. Less care and attention are very often 
bestowed upon them than the pig in the sty, or the beast of 
the stall. 0, fathers and mothers, though you may live in 
cottage, hovel or hut, think not meanly of your sons and daugh¬ 
ters. They must, they cannot help but influence the com¬ 
munity for good or evil. Then fill their souls with the truth. 
Let the sunshine of happiness be bright and fill your home. 
You cannot afford to neglect the moral culture of your chil¬ 
dren. Just so sure as you do your hearts will be thrust through 
with a double-edged sword. Beautify your homes and make 
them the most pleasant of all places. The most gorgeous of all 
beautifyings is within the reach of all. Fill it with songs, let 
the praise of the Lord be heard, keep the Master’s presence 
with you—for u Godliness with contentment is great gain.” In 
this realm is your daily work; do it with your might. 

“ Count that day lost whose low descending sun 

Views from thy hand no worthy action done.” 



GOODNESS. 


HEN GOD made the heart of man,” said Bossuet, 
u he first placed in it goodness.” This is divine 
language, and, if he had uttered nothing more, I 
should call him a great man. Goodness! That is 
to say, that virtue which consults no interest, 
which does not wait for the command of duty, 
which needs not be solicited by the attractions of 
the beautiful, but which leans so much the more 
towards an object as that object is poorer, more wretched, 
more abandoned, more worthy of pity. It is true, it is indeed 
true, man possesses that adorable faculty. I appeal to you 
as witnesses. It is not genius, or glory, or love, that measures 
the elevation of his soul; it is goodness. It is goodness that 
gives to the human physiognomy its highest and most invinci¬ 
ble charm; it is goodness that draws us together; it is good¬ 
ness that brings blessings to misfortunes, and that is every¬ 
where, from earth to heaven, the great mediator. See the 
poor Cretin at the foot of the Alps; his eye has no lustre, he 
neither smiles nor weeps, he know T s not even his own degre- 
dation, he seems as it were an effort of nature to insult her¬ 
self in dishonoring her noblest production. Do not think that 
he has not found the way to some heart, and that his abjection 
has snatched from him the friendship of the universe. No, 
he is loved, he has a mother, he has brothers and sisters, he 
has a place by the cottage hearth, the best and most honored 
place, because he is the most disinterested. The bosom that 
nourishes him holds him still, and the superstition of love 
speaks of him only as a blessing sent from God. Such is 
man.— Lacordaive. 









HOME AMUSEMENTS. 


REV. GEO. W. WILL1ARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


E HAVE all been so constituted as to need some 
amusement or recreation to satisfy the promptings 
of our nature. “All work and no play,” it has 
been well said, “ makes Jack dull all the day.” 
Hence it has been common in all ages, and among 
j all nations to have in connection with the ordinary 
pursuits of life, certain sports, and diversions, 
which differ according to the tastes and culture of 
the people who practice them. The ancient Greeks, who sur¬ 
passed all the nations of antiquity in culture and refinement, 
had a great variety of games, which consisted in running 
races, boxing, Ac., which were celebrated at certain seasons, 
and were largely attended and participated in by persons 
occupying the highest social positions. The same was true of 
the Romans and other nations of antiquity, all of which had 
their peculiar customs and amusements. And, although the 
world has in this as other respects, greatly changed, so that 
few of the sports and recreations of former times have come 
down to us in their original form, yet others have been substi¬ 
tuted in their place, such as ball, card-playing, croquet, danc¬ 
ing, checkers, pic-nics, excursions, Ac., which are now observ¬ 
ed and practiced with as much interest and delight as were 
those of antiquity, showing that something of the kind is 
necessary to meet the wants of our nature. 

If we go into families living side by side, in the same neigh¬ 
borhood, we find a great diversity of amusements practiced 
by the children* and youth, making it often a very difficult 
question to determine which are the most innocent, least 
objectionable, and best adapted to afford the recreation needed 
for the healthful developement of our nature, without leading 
to dissipation and excessive indulgence. 

That parents need to exercise great care and prudence as to 
the recreations which they introduce into the family for the 
amusement of their children, so as to adopt the best possible 










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THE FAMILY. 


353 


course, being neither too strict, nor too loose, is evident to all 
who have allowed themselves to think upon the subject. 
Many seeing the dangers and temptations to which our youth 
are exposed, and how easily they are decoyed and led astray, 
put too many restrictions upon them, and allow them too few 
liberties, the result of which is that not finding the amuse¬ 
ment at home which their nature craves, they seek it else¬ 
where, upon the streets and in the families of their neighbors. 
In all such cases it would be far better to provide what recre¬ 
ations may be necessary for the children at home, where they 
may be practiced under the eyes of the parents, than that 
they should be done clandestinely and without their knowl¬ 
edge. What is necessary to the healthful developement of 
our nature should not be suppressed or withheld, as it will 
crop out under one form or another, notwithstanding all that 
may be done to prevent it. 

Others seeing the effect of such rigidity go to the opposite 
extreme, laying but few restraints upon their children, and 
allow them loose reins, permitting them to engage in what¬ 
ever amusements they choose, the result of which, often, is 
the wildest dissipation and folly. What, now, in view of such 
sad consequences, is the wisest and safest course to adopt, is 
a very difficult and perplexing question, so that the most we 
can do is to throw out a few general hints, and then leave it 
to the good common sense of parents to determine what is 
best under all circumstances. This much, however, may be 
said, that where there is any doubt as to the propriety or ten¬ 
dency of any amusement, such as social dancing or card¬ 
playing, it is better to discourage their use than run the risk 
of having our children in the way of the destroyer. Any 
attempt to rescue card-playing from the hands of the profes¬ 
sional gambler, or to make the social dance, with its dissipat¬ 
ing and Worldly character, an innocent and healthful recre¬ 
ation must ever be attended with great peril and danger, as 
any indulgence in these amusements is very apt to be only 
the first step to a life of gaitey and dissipation, the dividing 
line between the two being so narrow that it is easily passed. 
There was, therefore, in this aspect of the case, not only much 
force, but a*severe reproof to the elder of the church, who had 
encouraged these things in his own family, who, on being sent 


THE FAMILY. 


354 

to admonish a dissipated young man for his conduct, asked 
him, when, where, and how he had been thus led astray, in 
view of his early training, to which the young man replied, 
u I received my first lessons, and fondness for my present 
course in your parlor, playing cards with your daughters for 
diversion and amusement.” 

What, then, are the legitimate and proper amusements of 
the family, and what the things in which the children and 
other members of the household may indulge as innocent and 
healthful recreations, calculated to make the home, the 
nursery of all that is good and ennobling, and at the same 
time afford the proper exercise for both the mind and body ? 
In answering this question we would by no means strip the 
family of all that is pleasant and pleasurable; we would not 
suppress the hearty laugh, the innocent tricks and puns which 
children practice upon each other in their youthful sports in 
and around the house; we would not have parents watch 
them at every hour of the day, and cast angry looks at them 
whenever they give expression to their youthful glee; we 
would give them the ball and the kite, the hoop and the rope, 
the dog and the wagon, the doll and the flower-bed, the sled 
and the skates, and encourage them in such healthful recre¬ 
ations. Nor would we have them subjected to the rigidity of 
Puritanic rules, which would make them seek all their delight 
in singing psalms and hymns; but we would ask for them 
such gratifications and amusements as are necessary for the 
proper development of their physical, intellectual, and moral 
nature, such as will make the home attractive and to them the 
dearest spot on earth, and cause them sincerely to love their 
parents, sisters, and brothers, and all that pertains to the 
family; in a word, we would have everything done that can 
consistently be done, to cultivate a pleasant and cheerful home 
life, with nothing to chill or suppress it. Let parents introduce 
such things in the family and participate with the children in 
them, and there will be no need of such as are of doubtful 
propriety. 

But, how can this be done ? It can be done by considering 
the dispositions of children and interesting them in things 
in and around the home, by giving them something to 
do that will be useful and congenial to them ; by en- 


THE FAMILY. 


355 


couraging them in such things as are innocent ancl 
harmless; by providing books and papers for the family 
suitable to the age and attainments of each; by improv¬ 
ing the conversational powers of the children in talking 
of the events and occurances of the day, and having musical 
entertainments, and such other amusements as can be partici¬ 
pated in by all the members of the household. Let these and 
similar measures be adopted in every household, and let 
parents make it a point to provide for their children in this 
respect as they do for their daily physical wants, and it will 
not be long until the wisdom of the course suggested. will be 
apparent to all in the improved home-life of the families of 
our land. 


LIES—SOCIAL AND MECHANICAL. 



HERE ARE men high in Church and State, actu¬ 
ally useful, self-denying and honest in many 
things, who upon certain subjects or in certain 
spheres are not at all to be depended upon for 
veracity. Indeed, there are multitudes of men 
who have their notions of truthfulness so thor¬ 
oughly perverted that they do not know when 
they are lying. With many it is a cultivated sin; 
with some it seems a natural infirmity. I have known people 
who seem to have been born liars. The falsehoods of their 
lives extended from cradle to grave. Prevarication, misrep¬ 
resentation and dishonesty of speech appeared in their first 
utterances, and was as natural to them as any of their infan¬ 
tile diseases, and was a sort of moral croup or spiritual scarla¬ 
tina. But many have been placed in circumstances where 
this tendency has day by day and hour by hour been called 
to larger devlopment. They have gone from attainment to 
attainment and from class to class until they have become 
regularly graduated liars. 

The air of the city is filled with falsehoods. They hang 
pendant from the chandeliers of our merchant princes. They 













THE FAMILY. 


356 

fill the sidewalk from curbstone to brown stone facing. They 
cluster around the mechanic’s hammer, and blossom from the 
end of the merchant’s yard-stick, and sit in the doors of 
churches. Some call them “ fiction.” 

I notice social lies. Much of society is insincere. You 
know not what to believe. When people ask you to come, 
you know not whether or not they want you to come. When 
they send their regards you do not know whether it is an ex¬ 
pression of their heart or an external civility. We have 
learned to take almost everything at a discount. Word is sent 
u Not at.home” when they are only too lazy to dress them¬ 
selves. They say “The furnace has just gone out,” when, in 
truth, they have had no tire in it all winter. They apologize 
for the unusual barrenness of their table, when they never 
live any better. They decry their most luxurious entertain¬ 
ments to win a shower of approval. They apologize for their 
appearance as though it were unusual. They would make 
you believe that some nice sketch on the wall is the work of a 
master-painter. It was an heirloom, “ and once hung on the 
walls of a castle,” and a Duke gave it to their grandfather. 
People who will lie about nothing else will lie about a picture. 
On a small income we must make the world believe that we 
are affluent, and our life becomes a cheat, a counterfeit and a 
sham. Few persons" are really natural. A frozen dignity 
floats about the room, and iceberg grinds against iceberg. You 
must not laugh outright; it is vulgar. You must smile. You 
must not rush rapidly across the room; you must glide. There 
is a round of bows and grins and flatteries and oil’s and all’s 
and simperings and namby pambysm, a world of which is not 
worth one good, round, honest peal of laughter. From such a 
hollow round the tortured guest retires at the close of the 
evening and assures his host that he has enjoyed himself. 
Thus social life has been contorted and deformed until in some 
mountain cabin, where rustics gather to the quilting or the 
apple-pearing, there is more good cheer than in all the fres¬ 
coed ice-houses of the metropolis. 

In the next place I notice mechanical lies. There is no 
class of men who administer more to the welfare of the city 
than artisans. To their hand we must look for the building 
that shelters us, for the garments that clothe us, for the car 


TIIE FAMILY. 


357 

that carries us. They wield a wide-spread influence. There 
is much derision of what is called muscular Christianity ; but 
in the latter day of the world's prosperity, I think that the 
Christian will be muscular. We have the right to expect of 
those stalwart men of toil the highest possible integrity. Many 
of them answer all our expectations and stand at the front of 
religious and philanthropic enterprises. But this class, like the 
others that I have named, has in it those who lack in the ele¬ 
ment of veracity. They can not all be trusted. In times 
when the demand for labor is great, it is impossible to meet 
the demands of the public, or do work with that promptness 
and perfection that would at other times be possible. But 
there are mechanics whose word can not be trusted at any 
time. No man has a right to promise more work than he can do. 
There are mechanics who say that they will come Monday, 
but they do not come until Wednesday. You put work in 
their hands that they tell you will be completed in ten days, 
but it is thirty. There have been houses built of which it 
might be said that every nail driven, every foot of plastering 
put on, every yard of pipe laid, every shingle hammered, 
every brick mortared, could tell a falsehood connected there¬ 
with. There are men attempting to do ten or fifteen pieces of 
work who have not the time or strength to do more than five 
or six pieces; but by promises never fulfilled keep all the 
undertakings within their own grasp. This is what they call 
^nursing the job.” How much wrong to his soul and insult to 
God a mechanic would save if he promised only so much as he 
expected to be able to do. Society has no right to ask of you 
impossibilities. You can not always calculate correctly, and 
you may fail because you can not get the help you anticipate. 
But now I am speaking of the wilful making of promises that 
you know you can not keep. Did you say that that shoe 
should be mended, that coat repaired, those brick laid, that 
harness sewed, that door grained, that spout fixed, or that win¬ 
dow glazed by Saturday, knowing that you would neither be 
able to do it yourself nor get any one else to do it ? Then 
before God and man you are a liar. You may say that it 
makes no particular difference and that if you had told the 
truth you would have lost the job, and that people expect to 
be disappointed ; but that excuse will not answer. There is 


THE FAMILY. 


358 

a voice of thunder rolling among the drills and planes and 
shoe-lasts and shears which says : “ All liars shall have their 
place in the lake that burneth with tire and brimstone.”— 
Talmage. 


THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN. 



HO KNOWS,” asks Bishop Beveridge, “ but that 
the salvation of ten thousand immortal souls may 
depend upon the education of one child ?” Let no 
one be discouraged by the difficulty or magnitude 
of the work. Fruit does not always immediately 
appear. Cases have been known in which a mother’s 
counsels, example, and prayers produced their 
effect years after she was laid in the silent grave. u We can 
not give our children grace,” it is often said; but they who 
thus speak must know there is One who can, One with whom 
“ all things are possible.” u The God of all grace” has said, 
“ I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon 
thine offspring.” What are the difficulties before Omnipot¬ 
ence ? What stiff neck can not he bend ? What hard heart 
can not he soften ? What refractory spirit can not he subdue ? 
What wayward prodigal can not he reclaim ? 

It must be admitted, indeed, that in some instances faithful 
mothers have been comparatively unsuccessful. A son may 
wander from the true path which has been marked out for 
him. But these are the rare exceptions. The general rule is, 
u Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old 
he will not depart from it.” Dr. Clarke, commenting upon 
this passage, says, “The Hebrew of this clause is curious: 
Initiate the child at the opening (the mouth) of his path. 
When he comes to the opening of the way of life, being able 
to walk alone and to choose, stop at this entrance and begin a 
series of instructions, how he is to conduct himself in every 
step he takes. Show him the duties, the dangers, and the 
blessings of the path; give him directions how to perform the 









. THE FAMILY. 


359 

duties, how to escape the dangers, and how to secure the bless¬ 
ings which all lie before him. Fix these on his mind by daily 
inculcation, till their impression has become indelible; then 
lead him to practice by slow and almost imperceptible 
degrees, till each indelible impression becomes a strongly- 
radicated habit. Beg incessantly the blessing of God on all 
this teaching and discipline; and then you have obeyed the 
injunction of the wisest of men. Nor is there any likelihood 
that such impressions shall ever be effaced, or that such habits 
shall ever be destroyed.” 


GREAT MEN’S WIVES. 


T WAS a saying of Rousseau’s that u a man is only 
what a woman makes him,” and this sentiment is 
slightly varied in our own old English proverb, 
which says that “ if a man would thrive he must 
ask his wife’s leave.” The records of history con¬ 
tain numberless examples of women who have 
done for their husbands what Aaron and Hur did 
for Moses; they have held up their hands and supported them 
at the greatest crisis of their lives, and so turned what would 
have been a f ailure into triumph and success. And they con¬ 
tain examples, too, of those who have accomplished a far 
more difficult task—that of sustaining and cheering when 
endeavor and hope were dead. It is only necessary to mention 
the names of Gertrude von der Wert and Lady Rachel Russell 
in proof of this. It may not be uninteresting to give a few 
instances of women in our own generation, who have been to 
their husbands helpers and fellow-workers, as well as sym¬ 
pathizing companions, and who have thus taken a position 
which is unanimously acknowledged to be a most proud and 
honorable one—that of a helpmate to man. Among these the 
name that is first thought of, probably because it has so 
recently been brought before public notice, is that of Lady 
Augusta Stanley, the wife of the Dean of Westminster. Her- 










360 


THE FAMILY. 


self the daughter of a peer, and one of the most intimate of 
the Queen’s personal friends, she possessed a largeness of heart 
and a strength of intellect which won respect and kindly feel¬ 
ing from all who came in contact with her. She sympathized 
most heartily with her husband, both in thought and work, 
while the poor of Westminster 'found in her tenderness and 
kindness a frequent alleviation of their miseries. 

Everyone will remember the testimony of John Stuart Mill 
to the worth of his wife, which is to be found in the dedica¬ 
tion to her memory printed at the commencement of one of 
his essays: “ To the beloved and deplored memory of her who 
was the inspirer and. in part, the author of all that is best in 
my writings—the friend and wife whose exalted sense of truth 
and right was my strongest incitement, and whose approba¬ 
tion was my chief reward—I dedicate this volume.” It is said 
that such was Mr. Mill’s sorrow at her death that he continued 
to reside at Avignon, the place where she was buried, that so 
he might continually visit her tomb, and he never ceased to 
lament her loss. 

Thomas Carlyle, one of the greatest intellectual lights of 
this century, has recorded his testimony to the worth of his 
wife on her tombstone : u In her bright existence she had more 
sorrows than are common, but also a soft amiability, a capacity 
for discernment, and a noble loyalty of heart which are rare. 
For forty years she was the true and loving helpmate of her 
husband, and by act and word unweariedly forwarded him, as 
none else could, in all of worthy that he did or attempted.” 

The wife of Sir William Hamilton, professor of logic in the 
University of Edinburgh, was a true helper to her husband; 
indeed, it is more than probable that without her many of his 
best works would never have been written. When he was 
elected to the professorship some of his opponents declared 
publicly that he would never be able to fulfill the duties of 
his position, as he was nothing but a dreamer. He and his 
wife heard of this and determined to prove that it was not 
true. They therefore arranged to work together. Sir William 
wrote out roughly, each day, the lecture that was to be given 
the next morning; and as he wrote his wife copied it out; and 
again and again they sat up writing till far into the night. 
When Sir William was struck down with paralysis, the result 


THE FAMILY. 


361 

of overwork, Lady Hamilton devoted herself entirely to him 
—wrote for him, read for him, and saved him in every way. 

John Flaxman, the sculptor, had made considerable progress 
in his work when he married Anne Denman, a noble-spirited, 
intelligent woman, full of love for art, and with an intense 
admiration for him as an artist. It happened that soon after 
the event he met Sir Joshua Reynolds, in whose opinion no 
man could hope to become an artist who did not devote him¬ 
self entirely to art, and who had not studied patiently and 
reverently the works of the great masters in Italy itself. 

“Well, Flaxman,” said Sir Joshua, u I hear you are married. 
You are ruined for an artist.” 

Flaxman went straight to his wife and said to her: 

“ Anne, I am ruined for an artist.” 

“Who has ruined you, John?” 

“It happened in church,” he replied, “ and Anne Denman 
has done it.” 

He then told her what Sir Joshua had said, and added, “I 
should like to have been a great artist.” 

• “ And so you shall be, and go to Rome too, if that will make 
you one.” 

“ How ?” said Flaxman. 

“Work and economize,” she replied. “ I will never have it 
said that Anne Denman ruined John Flaxman for an artist. 

And so the brave couple did work and economize. They 
worked patiently and hopefully for five years, never asked 
help from any one, never mentioned their intentions to any 
one, and at last went together to Rome, where Flaxman 
studied and worked to such purpose that he achieved both 
fame and competency. His success was not shared to the full, 
however, by his faithful wife, for she died many years 
before him. 

The wife of the late Dr. Buckland considerably assisted her 
husband in his labors. She used to write from his dictation 
for hours at a time. She herself furnished many of the draw¬ 
ings with which his works are illustrated, and she skillfully 
and dexterously mended many of the fossils which but for her 
would have been useless. 

The wife of Faraday was a true helper to her husband. 
After twenty-eight years of married life, he speaks in his diary 


24 


362 


THE FAMILY. 


of his marriage as an event which more than any other had 
contributed to his earthly happiness and healthy state of mind, 
and says : “ The union has in nowise changed, except only in 

the depth and strength of its character.” 

Thomas Hood, the wit and poet, speaks thus of his wife : “ I 
never was anything, dearest, till I knew you, and I have been 
a better, happier and more prosperous man ever since. What¬ 
ever may befall me, the wife of my bosom will have the 
acknowledgement of her tenderness, worth and excellence 
from my pen.” 

Speaking of Hood makes us think of two notable instances 
of great writers of our time who have not been happy in their 
wives—namely, Charles Dickens and Bulwer Lytton. It is 
neither a pleasant nor thankful task to expose the spots which 
soil the beauty of great works of art, nor to call attention to 
the littleness which detract from the admiration we feel for 
great men ; nevertheless, there seems ample reason for believ¬ 
ing that in both these instances, whatever fault there was did 
not lie wholly with the wives. Thackeray, who has been fre¬ 
quently spoken of as a similar instance, was most loving and 
beloved by his home circle, but sustained a deep affliction in 
his wife losing her reason after the birth of one of her children. 

The constancy with which so many women have cherished 
the memory of their husbands when death has removed them 
from their sides cannot but call forth both respect and admira¬ 
tion. Our Queen is herself a noble example of this. The 
depth of her sorrow for the loss of the good Prince Albert, 
and the faithfulness with which she cherishes and honors his 
memory and teaches her children to do so, are known to all. 

Lady Franklin, too, holds a foremost place among the faith¬ 
ful and true. When her husband, Sir John Franklin, did not 
return at the expected time from his last expedition to the 
North seas, apprehension began to be seriously entertained 
respecting his fate and that of his brave companions. Lady 
Franklin offered rewards of £2,000 and £3,000 to any persons 
discovering or affording relief to the missing party, or making 
any extraordinary effort with this object. She appealed to 
the American people to assist in the search, and she herself 
determined upon, organized, and to a great extent defrayed 
the expense of two expeditions to seek for traces of the miss- 


THE FAMILY. 


363 


ing party. For years she refused to give up hope, and it was 
only when Capt. McClintock returned with what were con¬ 
sidered full proofs of his death that she rested in her endeavors 
to prosecute the search. To quote the words of Sir Roderick 
Murchison, u Nothing daunted by failure after failure, she 
persevered through years of hope deferred with a singleness of 
purpose and a sincere devotion which were truly unparalleled.” 
The little ship Pandora, which is now acting as the medium of 
communication between England and the present Arctic 
explorers, was fitted out in great part at her expense before 
her death.— CasselVs Magazine. 


THE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 



REV. J. B. HENRY, A. M., PLEASANTVILLE, 0. 


HE SUPREME purpose of every father and 
mother should be to make noble men and women 
of their children ; to give them characters pure as 
the driven snow, and attractive as the flowers of the 
field; to have them grounded in principles good 
and true, and equipped for right and useful living. 
These things are not inherited and nature does not 
work them of her own accord. They are the 
result of a careful process of education. Much depends upon 
what is meant by education, what mode and purpose is had 
in view. 

The prime object of an education should be the culture of 
the soul, a development of its powers and faculties that aims 
at the production of a true heart-life, a complete and Christian 
manhood. Especially ought this to be the object in the edu¬ 
cation of children. They have not yet reached the time to 
choose a profession. Before they acquire gold or acres let 
them acquire virtue, benevolence and wisdom. Before they 
build up a fortune let them first of all build up a disciplined 
and well regulated manhood. And in after years the world 
shall esteem and honor them, not simply for their ingots, but 
for their sterling character and moral excellence. 














364 


THE FAMILY. 


Admitting that the true idea of education has long since 
been settled, you will find many, and those too who purpose 
to educate their children and acknowledge its benefits, who 
have a very inferior conception of the character and object of 
this work. With them education means nothing more than a 
professional training, a training for business pursuits, a train¬ 
ing that will enable their children to cany on their craft or 
occupation more successfully in life. In this sense an educa¬ 
tion means only a livelihood, material success and welfare in 
this life. Such a view of education is beneath our dignity. 
It is equal to saying that all of life is but to live. This life is 
made to consist too much in the development of our material 
resources and the enjoyments they afford rather than the cul 
ture of heart and soul, and the richer joys flowing therefrom. 
Education naturally implies teaching the active, living instruc¬ 
tion of human teachers. Many are the means employed, but 
above all stands the living teacher. It is mind in contact with 
mind, heart glowing upon heart, soul enchanting soul, that 
arouses thought and fosters thinking. The soul is not wholly 
self-developed, neither is it moulded like the clay, but requires 
the active co-operation with the teacher, who acts as an 
awakening and quickening influence upon the thought. 

Childhood is the important period in the cultivation of our 
powers. The child’s education is begun in the home. Here 
are started tendencies that will tell in after years. Fathers and 
mothers, whether you will or will not, whether for weal or for 
woe, you are your child’s first teachers. Nowhere else is the 
relation between teachers and taught so close as between parent 
and child. At no other time are the powers more tender and 
plastic, fuller of health and vigor, and at no other time will 
the impressions received, be stronger and more lasting. It is 
your privilege to weave into their lives feelings and thoughts, 
noble, rich and beautiful, that will make their after years 
happy and good. Or it is yours to plant the seeds of a blighted 
life. With few exceptions its little craft is turned toward 
heaven or hell before the child goes out from home. Parents 
often seem to be blind and dumb to their duties and work in 
the home culture of their children, and censure others for the 
shame and defect which, by their neglect and indifference, 
they have occasioned in their children. Fathers have time for 


THE FAMILY. 


365 


farms and stock, mothers spend much time and care with pic¬ 
tures and walls, carpets and curtains that no stain or spot is 
left upon them, while children are left with bad associates, or 
worse books and papers that are corrupting their guileless 
hearts and staining the soul. It is of the utmost importance 
who becomes the guide and teacher of your children after you. 
Whoever he may be, let him teach the child to be honest and 
true, to be busy and self-reliant. Teach it to observe, to rea¬ 
son and to think, and above all to think right, to think right 
in regard to the world, sin, the church, the government and 
God. Thinking leads to action. There are risks in thinking, 
just as much as there are risks in business. A man invests in 
a doubtful enterprise and looses all. A young man enters 
upon a wrong course of thinking and makes a failure in life. 
The moral force of a child’s life in after years will never rise 
higher than the character of its thinking. And the character 
and force of its religion will never rise above the manners in 
which it thinks of its God and the great laws of sin and grace. 


THE HOME FEAST ON THANKSGIVING DAY. 


“ The shadows come, the seasons go, 

And God is good to all.” 

NE OF the accessory characteristics of our Amer¬ 
ican Thanksgiving is its elevation of the home. 
We do not depreciate its devotional services. On 
the contrary, we think that nothing can be more 
seemly, more honoring to God, or more profitable 
to our own souls than the observance by us, as a 
nation, of such religious services. It is a national 
expression of religion of the noblest sort; all the nobler, indeed, 
because there is no legislation behind it, but because it is the 
spontaneous response of the people to the request spontane¬ 
ously made by the Chief Magistrate of the Republic. And 
in an age when materialism is seeking to rear its head among 
us, and God’s constant agency in the physical universe is 












THE FAMILY. 


366 

denied, it is something to see a grateful people on their knees, 
and to hear them singing the glad anthem,— 

“ Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, 

And thy paths drop fatness.” 

But while we are thus far from being insensible to the value 
of the religious services of Thanksgiving Day, we confess that 
we have an additional interest in its occurrence from the fact 
that it is among us peculiarly the festival of the home. For 
it seems to us that in these days we are in danger of forget¬ 
ting the importance of the domestic circle. Amid the hurry 
and exhaustion of business life, our merchants see little of 
their families; while in many cities there are multitudes who 
are so situated that they can ,not have homes of their own, 
and lose all sense of the sanctity of the household because of 
the social communism of the boarding-house or the hotel. It 
is well, therefore, to have some “yearly festival for all the 
family ”• connected with the house of the patriarch of the clan, 
and when we heard, as we did the other day, of preparations 
being made for an assembling of sixty relatives beneath one 
roof of this Thanksgiving occasion, we were exceedingly de¬ 
lighted, and saw in such a fact the promise of good to the com¬ 
munity. Home is the center of our social life, and, if its 
sanctions are destroyed, or its attractions weakened, or its as¬ 
sociations degraded, everything else in the land will suffer; 
while its place is maintained among us, and the members of 
our families are knit together in love, and sympathy, and 
union to the Lord Jesus, everything else will come right, 
almost as a matter of course. 

So, to-day, let us rejoice in home. It is the place of tender- 
est affection. What tie so strong as that which binds husband 
and wife together, when they are to each other as they ought 
to be! They learn each other’s ways, make allowances for 
each other’s failings, strengthen each other’s weaknesses, and 
solace each other’s sorrows: As the years revolve over them, 
dropping their snows upon their heads, they seem to become 
parts of each other, and there are many households among us 
in which the beloved grandam, if she had but voice enough, 
might sing with all the tenderness and sincerity that beautiful 
lyric, which seems almost the apotheosis of old age, u John 


THE FAMILY. 


367 


Anderson my Jo John.” Blessings on both the “ frosty pows ” 
to-day, for it is from scenes and homes like those that the 
true grandeur of a nation spring. Nor must we forget here 
the love of brother for sister, and sister for brother, and that 
mutual education which they give to each other by their 
frank interchange of opinion, their ready assistance and their 
friendly banter. What a sparkle and effervescence there 
always is at the table round which the youthful members of a 
household sit, taking full advantage of the u liberty of chil¬ 
dren ! ” And who that has known these joys would willingly 
barter them for any worldly advantage ? 

Then what influences emanate from the home ! It is a com¬ 
mon remark that great men have been almost invariably be¬ 
holden chiefly to their mothers. In a subordinate sense, each 
of them might say that her u gentleness ” made me great, and 
each has carried through life the impress of his mother’s 
training. John Randolph once said, u I should have been a 
French atheist if it had not been for one recollection, and that 
was the memory of the time when my departed mother used 
to take my little hand in hers, and cause me on my knees to 
say, u Our Father, which art in heaven.” The sun’s rays linger 
last on the very mountain tops which its earliest beams illu¬ 
minated, and often the'soul’s latest thoughts are with its earli¬ 
est recollections, and the aged saint enters heaven “ as a little 
child,” repeating one of his nursery prayers. So surely we 
ought to value home, and rejoice in everything that strength¬ 
ens its hold among us. 

Nor let us here forget that the Christian home on earth is 
the foretaste and pledge of the heavenly. The homes among 
us are not permanent. u Our fathers, where are they ? ” Even 
some of our children are no longer with us. Vacant places 
will be in many family circles this Thanksgiving Day. Some 
will miss a husband, some a laughing, fair-haired child ; while 
even, where there has been no death, there may have been 
separation, and those who last year were happy in each other’s 
fellowship, may now be parted by the breadth of a continent, 
or of an ocean. All that is sad enough, but it would be sadder 
far if we could not look forward to a home on high, into which 
neither misery nor change nor death can enter. The prospect 


368 


THE FAMILY. 


of that at once reconciles us to earth, and stirs us up to pre¬ 
paration for our inheritance on high. 

During the great European war, Napoleon discovered that 
every time the “ Ranz des Raches ”—the home tune of the 
Swiss—was played, some Swiss soldiers were sure to desert 
from his army, so he forbade the musicians ever to play it, and 
it is said that when the British troops are on foreign stations, 
the bands are not allowed to play such tunes as “ Home, 
Sweet Home,” because of the sadness and depression which 
they produce. But it is different with our heavenly home 
songs. The more we sing them the more thoroughly we 
are reconciled to the present, as the needful preparation for 
the future. The Christian’s home lies before him, and not 
behind, and so when he sings of it there is an impulse given 
him, rather than a drag put upon him. Therefore, let our 
readers, to-day rise from the earthly home to the thoughts of 
heaven, and after the feast let them gather round and sing of 
that greater Thanksgiving, in that glorious Father’s house, 
into which shall be gathered, at last, “ all the nations of the 
saved.” 

What better wish can we express for the families into which 
it is our weekly privilege to enter than this, which we slightly 
adapt from the Scottish poet? Would that all the world were 
as worthy of his genius !— 

When soon or late you reach that coast, 

O’er life’s rough ocean driven, 

May you rejoice, no wanderers lost, 

Whole families in heaven! 

—Christian at Work. 




A PLEA FOR JOB’S WIFE. 


^RON BURR has had abundant excusers; for 
Benedict Arnold there have been found apolo¬ 
gists ; Ingersoll, the modern Don Quixote, is not 
ashamed to go round shivering his lance in behalf 
of Tom Paine. U A fellow-feeling makes us won¬ 
drous kind! ” Even Judas Iscariot has not want¬ 
ed for sympathy, and Burns from out his loving 
but faulty heart put in a plea for the “ puir 
De’il ” himself. 

But so far as I know none has been found so brave as to 
speak a good word in behalf of Job’s wife. Along with 
u Lot’s wife,”—whom although we are charged to u remember ” 
I feel like also taking up the cudgel for,—Mrs. Job, because 
of her one reported speech,—only one , and the speaker that 
sex whose u gift of tongues ” is so much talked about, while 
Job and those other men discoursed so fully, and as Job more 
than intimated not to edification!—has been held up to execra¬ 
tion through all the centuries as a shrew and a vixen! 

But I appeal to the mothers of this Christian land, living 
in the full blaze of the u hope of the resurrection and the 
life,” who have sometime known what it is to see the light 
wane slowly, or go suddenly out of one pair of eyes, and have 
felt for the time that all worth living for was lost forever. 

Did not her mother’s heart bleed over the sudden, terrible 
fate of her seven brave sons, and three fair daughters ? Does 
not the short record of their loving, brotherly lives and ways 
speak volumes for the mother’s training and example ? Did 
not she too feel the swift descent from riches to poverty, when, 
in one day their camels, flocks and herds, with their servants, 
were taken from them ? Did she not miss the sweet, gracious 
savor of Job’s weekly sacrifice, offered lest peradventure these 
now lost children had sinned during the week’s hospitable 
dinner-giving, and taking ? 

Again I appeal to you as house-keepers. Can you not 
remember some U blue” day, Monday it may be, when the 
husband was at home and complaining,—perhaps he had one 







THE FAMILY. 


370 

boil, and some men can make a great amount of fuss under 
such weight of trial! The larder was empty and no baker in 
town; the house topsy-turvy, the table-linen and napkins all 
hopelessly soiled! the children fretful and dirty, the usual 
help gone, and you, tired out with unwonted labors, anxieties 
and griefs, felt that body, mind and soul were all spent, ^t 
such time, when coming guests were announced, even loved 
and cherished friends, who in some time past had fared sump¬ 
tuously at your well-spread and well-served board, can you 
not recall that moment of supreme, blank dismay, when you 
longed for, not u the wings of a dove,” because that implied a 
home-returning, but annihilation, and if your unspoken 
thought had been penned and spread before the world would 
it have looked any better than Job’s wife’s single, unfortunate 
remark ?. 

Up to that moment there is not a hint but that under all 
these strokes of loss and bereavement the wife had acquiesced 
in Job’s pathetic cry of submission, u The Lord gave and the 
Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” Doubt¬ 
less she had accepted the desolate home, lacking the boys’ 
cheerful talk and laughter, and the girls’ voice of song, as a 
part of God’s incomprehensible discipline, which it was not 
in any true sense of the word,, for we are told all Job’s trials 
were for Satan’s satisfaction, and though missing the help of 
the usual servants, and the household plenty of the past, was 
glad to still her aching heart by keeping her hands busy in 
even so homely duties as renewing Job’s ash-pile, supplying 
pot-shreds, and making multitudinous poultices! 

But when she is told that Job’s three quondam friends, who 
grew soon to be four, are coming, remembering the seven 
days of silence and ash-sitting, required by politeness, antici¬ 
pating the prospects of these to provide for and feed,—for of 
course they did not fast, a la Tanner, somebody would have 
to cook for them, and their feeding-time would be their main 
recreation; moreover there were no hospitable sons to divide 
them among, and therefore she would be always under their 
watchful, critical eyes, all the while in dread anticipation of 
that time when this long-bottled-up talk should ferment and 
break forth, what wonder that, unable to accept this affliction 
of “ comforting friends ” as sent from God,—in point of fact, 


THE FAMILY. 371 

if she had but known it, that was Satan’s last, best card !—she 
cried out to Job her frenzied remark, u Curse God and die.” 

Job also must have had sad premonitions of his trials from 
these same friends, and misgivings as to their designs in com¬ 
ing to comfort him, if we may judge from his mild rebuke, 
u What! shall u % e —not I—receive good at the hands of the 
Lord, and shall we not receive evil ? ” 

How much more severe his words to those hypocritical, 
censorious friends, privately glorying in his downfall: “Mis¬ 
erable comforters are ye all. Ye are forgers of lies, physicians 
of no value. O that ye would altogether hold your peace!” 

When, finally satisfied with the trial of Job’s patience,— 
and his wife’s too, I believe,—God turned the captivity of 
Job, and he was visited by his brethren, sisters and acquaint¬ 
ances, who not only properly bemoaned and comforted him, 
but, what was far more to the point, each man gave him a 
piece of money and an earring of gold, since in the count 
of Job’s after blessings no other wife is mentioned, we can 
but conclude she shared equally in the prosperity of those 
latter days, when not only was their wealth of sheep, oxen, 
camels and asses doubled, but there was also born to them 
seven sons and three daughters, and in all the land there were 
no women found so fair as the daughters of Job; and, in so 
high approval did Job hold the female part of his household 
that he did the unheard of thing to give his daughters an 
inheritance among their brethren.— M. H. W. Jaquith. 


SPEAK GENTLY. 


C A PEAK GENTLY to thy father, 

He giveth thee thy bread ; 

His toils have earned the pillow 
Which nightly rests your head. 

The home from which you bound at morn, 
To which at night you hie 
He won with many a weary stroke. 

With many a weary sigh. 





372 


THE FAMILY. 


Speak gently to thy mother; 

She blest your .infant sleep; 

She watched your “ dawn of little joys,” 
With feelings fond and deep ; 

And as you grew in size and years, 

She still was by your side, 

To chide your faults, allay your fears— 

A gentle, tender guide. 

Speak gently to thy sister— 

How pure her love to you!— 

You’ll find no love on earth 
So constant, chaste and true. 

She meekly hears your little griefs, 

And weeps when you are sad; 

She nourishes your little joys, 

And smiles when you are glad. 

O, never! in that circle bright 
Of home’s most hallowed joy, 

Let one unkind, ungentle word, 

The reigning peace destroy. 

Speak as you think bright angels speak, 
Of saints in realms above, 

Where no discordances disturb 
That happy home of love. 

— Harbaugh. 


SOMEBODY’S MOTHER. 


T HE WOMAN was old, and ragged and gray, 
And bent with the chill of a winters day; 
The streets were white with a recent snow,’ 
And the woman’s feet with age were slow. 

At the crowded crossing she waited long, 

Jostled aside by the careless throng 
Of human beings who passed her by, 

Unheeding the glance of her anxious eye. 

Down the street with laughter and shout, 

Glad in the freedom of “ school let out,” 

Come happy boys, like a flock of sheep, 





THE FAMILY. 


373 


Hailing the snow piled white and deep ; 

Past the woman, so old and gray, 

Hastened the children on their way. 

None offered a helping hand to her, 

So weak and timid, afraid to stir, 

Lest the carriage wheels or the horse’s feet 
Should trample her down in the slippery street. 
At last came out of the merry troop 
The gayest boy of all the group ; 

He paused beside her, and whispered low, 

“ Ill help you across, if you wish to go; 

Her aged hand on his strong young arm 
She placed, and so without hurt or harm, 

He guided the trembling feet along, 

Proud that his own were young and strong; 

Then back again to his friends he went, 

His young heart happy and well content. 

“ She’s somebody’s mother, boys, you know, 

For all she’s aged, and poor and low ; 

And some one, some time, may lend a hand 
To help my mother—you understand :— 

If ever she’s poor, and old and gray, 

And her own dear boy so far away.” 

“ Somebody’s mother,” bowed low her head, 

In her home that night, and the prayer she said 
Was : “ God be kind to that noble boy, 

Who is somebody’s son and pride and joy.” 

Faint was the voice, and worn and weak, 

But Heaven lists when its chosen speak ; 

Angels caught the faltering word, 

And “ Somebody’s Mother’s” prayer was heard. 


374 


THE FAMILY. 


THERE’S NONE LIKE A MOTHER IF EVER SO POOR. 


OU TELL me you love me ; I fain would believe; 

And will make me your own bride and never deceive ; 
You offer me your heart and your hand, 

And make me the mistress of houses and land. 

I am but a poor girl, the truth I will tell: 

My mother’s a widow, in yon cottage doth dwell; 

She who nursed me in sickness, with little in store, 

Now I’ll never desert her because she is poor. 

You have promised me servants and carriages gay, 

And, perhaps, to deceive me, and lead me astray; 

For some men they will flatter to destroy a girl’s name, 

And soon she’s reduced to a sad life of shame, 

And then she’s insulted by each passer by; 

Her life is a burden, she could lay down and die; 

While here I am contented by our own cottage door; 

There’s none like a mother, if ever so poor. 

My dear father’^ words still ring in my ears : 

When dying he bid me my Maker to fear, 

And be kind to my mother—from her never part; 

If I were to leave her, it would break her heart. 

Still, if we were to marry, I should lead a sad life, 

When your friends, that are rich, knew you’d got a poor wife ; 
Your parents might slight me—it has been so before ; 

I’ll not leave my mother, altho’ she is poor. 

But if I were your equal, with wealth to command, 

I’d willingly give you my heart and my hand, 

And soothe every sorrow, dispel every care, 

For there’s truth in your face—I believe you’r sincere. 

If your parents would bless us to give their consent, 

We would all live together in peace and content; 

Then my poor aged mother should sorrow no more, 

For there’s none like a mother, be she rich or poor. 




ORPHAN CHILDREN. 


REV. P. C. PRUGH, BUTLER, PA. 


HILDREN ARE the legitimate offspring of the 
family; hence, their natural place is in the 
family. By the ordination of their Heavenly 
Father, they are, from the beginning, as much in¬ 
cluded in the family, as their parent. They are 
the body; children are the members. They are 
born, not into, but in the family. This is their 
normal condition. Outside of the family, they 
are “bastards, and not sons.” This being so, it is easy to see 
that the proper place for rearing and training children is in the 
family. No other institution, however, beneficent and kind, 
can assume to itself the right and authority to do this work, 
nor can the responsibility be shifted from the family. He who 
instituted the family from the beginning, knew well how to 
farm it. Hence its restriction to a comparatively small num¬ 
ber. Although, children among the Hebrews were regarded 
as an heritage from the Lord, yet rarely, if ever, were so in¬ 
creased, as to make the support and proper education of the 
children burdensome. Sometimes, however, in the providence 
of God, families thus legitimately constituted, are broken up. 
Parents are bereft of their children, and children of their 
parents. In the first case the family is only partially destroyed. 
In the latter, the destruction becomes complete; only the 
limbs of the family tree are now left. These may be grafted 
into other stems, and thus have their union with the family 
again, at least partially restored, or they may be left to wither 
and die, as they sometimes are outside of and away from the 
vital nourishment of family life. 

Children bereft of parents are called orphans. In this con¬ 
dition, cut off from their original source of life and support, 
they are beyond all conception, the most helpless. Without 
the throbbing heart of a father to feel for them, and the loving 
breast of a mother, upon which to nestle, their destitution 










THE FAMILY. 


376 

seems to be hopeless. No father’s house! No home! No 
counsel to guide untoward feet! Among the Jews, the 
greatest possible calamity that could befall children was to be 
left fatherless. But in the midst of such destitution, our 
Heavenly Father nlade ample provision for them. Natural, 
as well as many heathen religions, teach society to rid itself 
of all such parasites; being so utterly helpless, and with¬ 
out the ability in their present state, to add anything to general 
good, society is taught to throw off the incubus by any means 
it may desire. Hence, in countries, where no higher law 
governs, than mere self-preservation, orphans, with their 
widowed mothers, are often cast upon the funeral pile of their 
deceased fathers; or, if allowed to live at all, they became 
mere servants of masters cruel, and selfish. But the religion 
of the Bible, unlike all other religions, bestows special care 
upon orphan children. No richer display of God’s love has 
ever been exercised towards any of his creatures than that 
which shows itself in his care for the orphan. One of the 
special marks of Jehovah’s character is, that in him the father¬ 
less findeth mercy . The Bible is full of the brightest prom¬ 
ises given to them. False gods of the heathen are usually 
notable for their cruelty, but our God is “ A Father to the 
fatherless, in his Holy Mount.” Hardly had he given the law 
upon Mount Sinai, than he made special provision for the 
fatherless. The Lord pitieth all them that fear him, even as 
a father pitieth his children. But he seems to have treasured 
up special tenderness for orphan children. This is his law. 
“ Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.” u If thou 
afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will 
surely hear their cry ; and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will 
kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and 
your children fatherless.” And, as if to show still further 
how near to his heart lay the cause of the orphan, he enacted 
special laws for their sustainance, as in the case of the insti¬ 
tution of the tithe. Not only the Levite, because he had no 
part, or inheritance with the other tribes, but also the widow 
and orphan were to have a share in it. “ And the Levite, and 
the fatherless and widow which are within thy gates shall 
come and eat and be satisfied. So, too, when the people gath¬ 
ered in their harvest, if they omitted a sheaf, they were not to 


THE FAMILY. 


377 

go back for it, but it was to be left to the widow and the 
fatherless. And when thou beatest thine olive trees thou shalt 
not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for 
the fatherless, and for the widow.” The chief crown of Job’s 
defense of himself against the reproaches of his friends was, 
that he delivered the fatherless when they cried. And when 
he sat down to his scanty table upon which was but a morsel, 
he remembered the fatherless, and invited them to partake 
with him. And, as if to make his regard for them still more 
emphatic he said, u If I have lifted up my hand against the 
fatherless when I saw my help in the gate. Then let my arm 
fall from my shoulder-blade, and mine arm be broken from 
the bone.” Nor are the fatherless and motherless less regarded 
by our Heavenly Father, at the present time. All along 
through the past centuries there comes down to us the solemn 
charge. u Feed my lambs, my little lambs; my very little 
lambs.” Among the most helpless of these are the orphan 
lambs. This seems to be the very embodiment of Christian 
work, and an essential mark of pure religion. 

The tenderness of God towards orphans is also shown by the 
means employed in their behalf. These are two-fold. The 
family and the orphan home. Of these the family is the first 
and highest. There are always some exceptions to the general 
order. There are families in which no children are born, and 
there are families from which all the children have been re¬ 
moved by death. Into these God incorporates the fatherless. 
And, although, only adopted, they nevertheless, here find 
again their legitimate place. This seems the Lord’s first and 
best order of providing for orphans. 

But when no such doors are open, when u Their lodging is 
the cold, cold ground,” and they are compelled u To eat the 
bread of charity,” then He makes another provision for them. 
This provision is the “ Orphan Home.” Here again, in the 
superintendent and his wife, the little one finds a father and a 
mother. These institutions are sometimes established and sup¬ 
ported by the state, sometimes by societies, sometimes by 
individual effort, but most frequently by the church. The 
largest and most remarkable orphan home in the world was 
established and conducted by George Muller, in Bristol, Eng¬ 
land. It has now been in existence over forty years, has cared 


THE FAMILY. 


378 

for five thousand children, and has expended for buildings and 
current expenses four million dollars, all of which was received 
by Mr. Muller in answer to prayer. What a wonderful exhibi¬ 
tion of God’s care for his orphan children. Among the 
Protestant churches, the Reformed and Lutheran have been 
most prolific in this work. The principal homes of the 
Reformed church in this country are the Bethany and St. 
Pauls. The former was founded in the year 1864, and is 
located at Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania. Five years ago its 
building was totally destroyed by fire, but has been replaced 
by a new three-story brick building, sufficiently large enough 
to accommodate one hundred and fifty children. The latter 
was founded in the year 1867, and is located on one of the 
most beautiful hills that surround Butler, Pennsylvania. The 
house is large and well adapted to its use, and the grounds are 
most beautiful. These homes are supported by the alms of the 
church, the Sunday schools taking a leading part. Their gov¬ 
ernment, as far as possible, is strictly parental. Here the 
orphan children are religiously trained and qualified for adop¬ 
tion in well-ordered Christian families; or, when retained 
longer in the home, they are educated and reared for future 
man and womanhood, that they may bless society and the 
church, and glorify God by a Christian life. 


PART IV. 
LIFE. 








WHAT IS LIFE ? 


REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


Life is before you; from the fated road 
You cannot turn ; then take ye up the load. 

Not yours to tread or leave the unknown way, 

Ye must go o’er it, meet ye what ye may. 

Gird up your souls within you to the deed, 

Angels and fellow-spirits bid you speed. 

— Butler. 

HE QUESTION, What is life? is one that has 
engaged the minds of men in all ages of the 
world. No one can be indifferent to it as it is one 
of those questions which will every now and then 
intrude themselves upon our minds, whether we de¬ 
sire it or not. And, although we may not be able to 
give a satisfactory answer to it, the very mysteri¬ 
ousness of the subject will invest it with such 
interest as to make it impossible for any one to 
treat it with indifference. 

At first view we might suppose the question, 
What is life ? easy of solution, as there is nothing 
of which we are more conscious than that we live. We feel 
the presence and energizing influence of life in every part of 
our system, in every lnotion of the hand and foot; in every 
thought we think, in every word we speak, and in every act 
we perform. But as soon as we attempt to grasp this myste¬ 
rious entity which we call life, and define in precise language 
what it is, we are utterly confounded. 

Such, however, is the inquisitiveness of the human mind 
that it has made various attempts to tell us what life is. One 
has defined it as matter organized, another as a property of 
protoplasm, whilst a third tells us “it is the outflowing of 
some inner, some higher, some altogether unbodily force; 
that it is more subtle than the subtlest power we can detect 
in nature, swifter than light, and more impalpable than the 
ether, abiding even when what you call the vital forces have 
worn themselves out and have ceased to act; it is the beam of 


















LIFE. 


382 

another sun than that which sustains our system and gives 
strength and activity to everything connected with it; it is a 
voice not heard in the rustling leaves, or where the sea-waves 
break upon the tawny sand.” 

But how little do such and similar definitions help us to 
understand what is meant by life, for we still ask in the face of 
all that has been said, What is it ? But although we may not 
be able to tell what life is, there is still much we may learn 
and know about it, if we only observe what is passing within 
and around us. There are in fact many things which go to 
make up the life we now live, which no one who has eyes to 
see, ears to hear, or a heart to feel can be entirely ignorant of, 
“ for what is your life; it is even a vapor that appeareth for a 
little time and then vanisheth away.” 

If you would know what life is, stripped of the tinsel and 
adornment thrown around it, go take your stand at some 
public thoroughfare and watch the eager throng as it passes 
hurriedly to and fro. What a scene of bustle, noise and con¬ 
fusion is seen. Men, women, and children of all ages, ranks, 
and descriptions of character meet and mingle for a moment, 
and then pass on in pursuit of the object before them. Some 
are in search of pleasure, others of fame, or worldly notoriety. 
Some sit with folded hands and contented look as if they had 
nothing to do in turning the wheel of fortune, while others 
are straining every nerve and muscle to be heroes in the strife. 
Some are bent with age, bowed down under the weight of the 
burdens and cares of life, waiting for the hour of their 
departure, whilst others are young, buoyant and hopeful. 
Some are sad and broken-hearted, others joyful and cheerful 
under the smiles of fortune. Some are clothed in the habili¬ 
ments of mourning, and love to tell the story of their bereave¬ 
ments and trials, whilst others are adorned in the most gaudy 
apparel, and indulge in all kinds of frivolity and hilarity. 
Little groups are seen here and there talking in excitement 
over the latest news in the commercial, political, and religious 
world. Some are discussing the rise and fall of the markets 
with the probable effect it will have on the business of the 
country, whilst others are commenting upon some shocking 
scandal or murder that has just occurred. Some grow angry 
and boisterous, and give utterance to vile oaths and impreca- 


LIFE. 


383 


tions, whilst others politely pass the compliments of the day, 
and go quietly along. All along the streets are seen places 
of amusement, business, and dissipation. Some are buying, 
and selling, and getting gain, and are doing a fair and hon¬ 
orable business; some are taking advantage of the ignorant 
and unsuspecting by the tricks of trade, and are seeking to 
advance their own interests at the sacrifice of honesty and fair 
dealing, whilst others are found in the dens of vice indulging 
in all kinds of lewdness, debauchery, and dissipation. The 
scene is one of strange confusion and mixture, so that we turn 
away from it with satiety and disgust, and enter the palace of 
the rich and fashionable, where a most enchanting view pre¬ 
sents itself as we gaze upon the spacious halls, the costly fur¬ 
niture, the rich tapestry, the neatly frescoed rooms, the splen¬ 
did pictures and ornaments, the softly cushioned chairs, and 
sumptuous table, with all the dainties of luxury and sen¬ 
suality. We leave the mansions of the rich, and enter the 
hovels and cottages of the poor and laboring classes, where 
the scene is just the opposite of what we have been viewing, 
exhibiting in some places squalid poverty, wretchedness, 
want, and starvation. Children half fed and clothed stare us 
in the face and look in strange bewilderment, as if they knew 
not what to say or do. Anxious and careworn mothers tell 
the story of their sufferings and distress, as none can tell it 
but those who have heard children cry for bread when there 
was none to give. In other places we meet the sons of toil 
and economy, who eat their bread by the sweat of their face, 
and constitute the bone and sinew of society, standing mid¬ 
way between the rich, the fashionable, and easy livers on the 
one hand, and the loungers, the idlers, and dissipators on the 
other. We pass along and enter the banks and marts of 
exchange, the theaters and lyceums, the schools and churches, 
the jails and penitentiaries, the asylums and alms-houses, the 
depots and wharves, where all is excitement and commotion. 
We look above and over us and see “ multitudinous wires 
cross and re-cross the streets, upon which, breezes as they 
pass, play fantastic melodies, and along which there fly, swift 
with the lightnings flash, the messages of trade, of joy, of 
affliction, the tidings of our world’s life, the dismal details of 
our human story.” We leave the city and marts of trade and 


384 


LIFE. 


go out to the quiet resting place of the dead, where the rich 
and the poor, the philosopher and peasant, the millionaire 
and the man who had not where to lay his head, the aged sire 
of four-score years and the prattling infant, the silver-tongued 
orator and statesman of world-wide reputation, friend and 
foe, father and mother, sister and brother; in short where all 
the past generations lie in silent repose, waiting the signal 
that shall call them from their slumbers to give an account to 
him who shall come to judge the quick and the dead at the 
last day, according to the deeds done in the body. We pause 
and meditate, we are bewildered and confused at what we 
have seen and heard, the fire burns within us, so that we can 
no longer repress our feelings, and exclaim in excited accents, 
such is life as we see it in the cities, villages, and world 
around us. 


“ Life I know not what thou art, 

But know that thou and I must part; 

But w T hen, or how, or where we meet, 

Is to me a mystery yet. 

“ Life, we’ve been long together, 

Through pleasant and through cloudy weather, 
’Tis hard to part when friends are dear, 
Perhaps ’twill cost a sigh, a tear; 


“Then steal away, give little warning, 

Choose thine own time; 

Say not good-night—but in some brighter clime 
Bid me good-morning.” 



A PICTURE OF LIFE. 


Taken from the Journal of Mrs. Mary Oberlin, of West Brookfield, 0., 
and written by her when about nineteen years old. 

WAS SEATED in my favorite retreat and gave 
myself np to reverie, enjoying the cool shade of 
the mighty forest trees, whose wide-spreading 
branches formed a natural covering over my 
head, sheltering me from the burning rays of the 
sun, but not shutting out his glory which was as the 
gauzy curtain hung before a parlor window, so 
arranged as not to shut out the light, but to make it appear 
more beautiful. Thus I sat sheltered by a curtain formed by 
God’s own hand. At my feet rippled a little brook, clear as 
crystal, showing the beauty of his handiwork, while the 
decaying trunk of a fallen monarch of the forest, covered with 
nature’s cushionings, served me as a seat, while on every tree 
the merry little warblers were sending forth their most stir¬ 
ring lays in honor of the great Founder of this magnificent 
scene. Situated as I was with a book of true worth, is it to be 
wondered at that I gave myself up to reverie, and that the 
picture presented to me was that of life? Presently there 
arose before my mind’s eye a human form dressed in flowing 
robes, which betokened that his mission was of no mean 
importance. His hair was silvered with age and the wrinkled 
brow indicated care, while underneath shown forth as piercing 
eyes as ever graced the most joyous youth. One look at that 
face and I at once felt myself in the presence of'one endowed 
with great wisdom. I dared not speak, and he, seeming to 
know my feelings broke the silence by saying: u What will 
you have?” Something within prompted me to say : “Wis¬ 
dom concerning the life of man.” He then said, “ It shall be 
granted you in part for it is not meet that mortal man should 
know the whole of this file’s career. But I will show you the 
picture and then you can judge for yourself which is most 
desirable, the wisdom of this fife or the gaudy pleasures that 
are inviting you on every hand to come and enjoy them ? But 
first where will you go to learn your lesson ?” I now found 







386 


LIFE. 


myself following my teacher, soaring amid the clouds. I 
knew not how to answer his last question as I did not clearly 
comprehend its meaning. He saw my embarrassment and as 
if to afford me the opportunity to ask more definite questions, 
said, “ Shall we turn to the grassy earth, to the hills, vocal 
with songs in the depths of their ancient woods, to the babbling 
brooks, to the rivers, meandering along their green banks ? 
Or shall we look to the sea, that with giant arms encircles the 
globe, where verdant isles stretch far beneath the tropics ? 
Or shall we go where mountains of ice glisten? Or to the 
burning sands of the desert ?• All! All these are overflowing 
with life. Millions upon millions of beings swarm through 
earth, air and water. But all this is not life. The sea is 
dead, the air and verdant earth with all its inhabitants all, all 
are dead. That alone lives which moves all things.” Then 
turning to me more directly, he said: “ Do you comprehend 
the lesson ?” I answered yes, but I thought it was to be of 
life, not of death! “Very true,” he replied, “but is not this 
of thy life ? Is it not good for you to learn that it is vanity to 
act like the butterfly going from place to place sipping sweets 
from things perishable ? Were it not better to go to the foun¬ 
tain of life for pleasure? I see you are disappointed. You 
expected to have been made acquainted with great wisdom. 
But beware fond youth, nor vainly inquire into the mysterious 
future, nor think if the wisdom of this be denied you, that 
you are deprived of true bliss, which finds perfection in 
supreme knowledge. All creatures remain as ignorant as you 
and shall ever so remain. 

Here I could not help replying: “ Good father, thy lessons 
of life are good. Truly nothing lives but lives through Him 
that lives and reigns supreme, but tell me not that all are 
ignorant as I, and shall ever so remain. It cannot be, for 
if so there must be many noble fires extinguished'that have 
warmed youthful hearts. May we not gain wisdom through 
God’s grace and employ it in the service of God and man?” 
He then addressed me more earnestly than before and said: 
u Go then, restless youth, expatiate through all the works of 
God, and if earthly things grow too dull to rouse your spirits, 
let your mind soar to the stars and gather their long hid treas¬ 
ures of knowledge as to how they burn, and with what motions, 


LIFE. 


387 

weights and measures they dance in eccentric orbits before 
the throne of God. Or if these fail, go search eternal fate 
hid indeed from all but what the book of life reveals to 
mortals. Ask the seers that have read the oracles of truth 
from ancient times, if haply may be found what is that life 
the Son of Heaven came to leave mortals. With this you maj^ 
pass unharmed through every clime without fear, for life is 
everywhere diffused despite the power of death, from the 
frozen North to the extreme South, from ancient East to 
modern West, everywhere may the living come and fear no ill 
for he that lives is there to breathe his spirit over all, as well 
as the shield of his cherubs more fierce than they that guarded 
of old the tree of life; and the dreadful look of God will defend 
them from all assaults of earth or hell. Go then, gather laurels 
and asscribe the honor to the glory of God and to the merits 
of his Son. But first of all ask his strengthening grace for of 
thine own accord thou canst accomplish nothing. Go, and 
may the lesson thou hast learned this day be ever fresh in thy 
memory.” 

I looked around me to see if I was really left alone. So 
high above my earthly habitation and lo! I was alone, but not 
as I supposed far above the clouds beyond the reach of mortal 
aid; for I was sitting in the same spot I was when my aged 
friend commenced that lesson of wisdom. But the scene 
around me was changed. Hushed twilight had winged its 
noiseless way from heaven to wrap my little nook and the 
surrounding forest trees in transparent drapery, and the 
pleasant moon lit up the mossy banks, making luminous the 
little brook that rippled by. How well was the calm soft twi¬ 
light adapted to think upon my dream, for dream it was and 
nothing else. The clear mild atmosphere was refreshing and 
gave an uncommon elasticity to my thoughts. What I then 
thought and felt can never be described by pen or speech. 
But valuable gems have been gathered and are written on 
the tablet of my heart, the characters of which can never be 
effaced. Was I idling precious time away? No! For how 
could I learn from any source a more instructive lesson and 
one that would make the same impression on my memory as 
the one I learned while soaring in aerial regions on the wings 
of imagination with hoary-headed wisdom for my teacher. 


388 


LIFE. 


To some it may be indefinite, but to me ’tis quite plain and 
easy. I sought my home in the quiet night deeply impressed 
with the scenes just passed. May they never be forgotten. 


A PSALM OF LIFE. 


T ELL me not, in mournful numbers, 
Life is but an empty dream ! 

For the soul is dead that slumbers 
And things are not what they seem. 

Life is real! Life is earnest! 

And the grave is not its goal; 

Dust thou art; to dust returnest; 

Was not spoken of the soul. 

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 

Is our destined end or way; 

But to act, that each to-morrow— 

Find us farther than to-day. 

Art is long, and Time is fleeting, 

And our hearts, though stout and brave, 
Still, like mufflled drums, are beating 
Funeral marches to the grave. 

In the world’s broad field of battle, 

In the bivouac of Life, 

Be not like dumb, driven cattle! 

Be a hero in the strife ! 

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant; 

Let the dead Past bury its dead; 

Act! Act in the living Present; 

Heart within, and God o’erhead! 

Lives of great men all remind us— 

We can make our lives sublime; 

And, departing, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sand of time. 





LIFE. 


8 SI) 


Footprints, that perhaps another, 
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, 

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
Seeing, shall take heart again. 

Let us, then, be up and doing, 

With a heart for any fate; 

Still achieving, still pursuing, 

Learn to labor and to wait. 


LIFE A SEED TIME. 


REV. J. H. STEELE, A. M., MOHICAN, OHIO. 



“ Soon as from earth I go, 

What will become of me ? 

Eternal happiness or woe 
Must then my portion be.” 

OW SOLEMN when to the poet’s reverie is added 
God’s word in reference to the unchangeableness 
of future destiny, u He that is unjust let him be 
unjust still.” But no less solemn is life when 
joys or sorrows are known to depend upon it. 
And of all the questions that come to us from the 
enchanting future or the irrevocably fixed past, 
none are fraught with so great interest and importance as the 
question, “ What sort of an eternity shall it be ?” 

God’s answers are diversified—at times direct—at times like 
the old-fashioned single rule of three, from some well-known 
facts and quantities to find a third. Nature and revelation 
repeatedly set for us the formula—life is to eternity as seed¬ 
time is to harvest. 

Souls carry their destiny up the banks of the river of death, 
as the ruby wears its colors. This truth sublime in its sim¬ 
plicity, and powerful in its beauty, is one of the chief lessons 
of religion, the first for youth to learn and the last that age 
should forget. 

Inspiration answers the question of song, u What shall the 
harvest be?” when it tells us that “whatsoever a man soweth 
















LIFE. 


390 

that shall he also reap.” Life is the time in which our char¬ 
acters are to be determined, in which the seeds of righteous¬ 
ness are to be sown, which under sunlight and cloud are to 
germinate. A time in which like trees planted by the rivers 
of water and sending out their rootlets to drink of the refresh¬ 
ing stream, souls are to be hastening to draw waters from the 
wells of salvation. 

Shakespeare, who observed and delineated so many of the 
features and possibilities of human life, appears to have only 
partially apprehended the truth when he said: u Lord we know 
what we are, but know not what we may be.” We may not 
know—how should we know all—when eye hath not seen nor 
ear heard ? But may we not know, that u He that soweth to the 
flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, and he that soweth to 
the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.” 

Eternity’s relation to life finds an analogy in the relation of 
youth to old age. As old weather-beaten walls, often because 
of vines and trailing mosses have their unsightliness covered 
and are made objects of attractiveness, and enclose a home of 
quietness and joy, so old age might become a season of dread, 
but having been preceeded by a manhood and youth that 
apprehended its approach, that carefully trellised with educa¬ 
tion and morals, and beautified with the cultivation of Chris¬ 
tian graces, it has become a striking analogy of life, its formi- 
tive period and its relation to eternity and its rich rewards. 

Another analogy, when nature astonishes us with its many 
manifestations of life and possible development, budding and 
bursting promises of beauty, fragrance and fruit, so that we 
tire in trying to find a limit to its growth, yet every seed and 
bulb springing and growing according to its kind and as it had 
fallen into the ground. So shall souls awaken after the winter 
of death. 

“My Lord,” said Anna of Austria to Cardinal Richelieu, 
“ there is one fact which you seem to have entirely forgotten; 
God is a sure paymaster. He may not pay at the end of the 
week, month or year, but I charge you remember. He pays 
in the end.” Forgotten by others than Cardinals! Yet won¬ 
derfully true if reason, analogy and scripture are to receive 
credence. 

Life is a borderland of strange dim light, a land whose morn- 


LIFE. 


391 

ing and night*are marked by the coming or flight of pain or 
woe—a land of strange influences, influences by which our 
characters are being fixed; but he that would look away from 
this life’s mountains can see across a wondrous strand the 
bright unearthly real. And as if for our encouragement, there 
come from off Eschol clusters the odors of ripening fruits. 

Death, the great finale to earthly life, may be as the summer 
thunder cloud that preceeds the harvest with its showers. Or 
it may be as a garden-gate through which we pass from life to 
gather fruit and flowers. 

In life, the alternative is left to our choice, either to improve 
ourselves and better our condition, or, in default of such 
improvement, to remain deficient and wretched. As this is 
strikingly true of life, it is also credible that the same may be 
the case with respect to the happiness of a future state and 
the qualifications necessary for it. Notwithstanding all the 
incentives to noble lives many are the wrecks and defeats. 
Like sluggards the cold hinders breaking up the fallow ground. 
Like countless seeds that fall into the ground that, notwith¬ 
standing the gentle showers and genial sunshine, fail to grow, 
so apparently regardless of God’s abundant helps and provi¬ 
sions in the way of saving grace. “ Summer ended, harvest 
past and we are not saved,” will be the bitter wail of not a few. 

Different ages may be differently characterized. Some for 
peace and some for war. Some for material and some for 
scientific discoveries. Such will ever characterize the present, 
make possible accummulations of wealth and multiplications 
of comfort which are astonishing, and which have stimulated 
the acquisitive faculty beyond all precedent. Thus each age 
might present a distinct feature, but one feature, of all ages, is 
that of preparation for a ceaseless age. 

Fable may tell of a miraculous drop that falls through the 
withering airs of June upon Egypt’s land with a balmy vir¬ 
tue, with a contagion staying power, with health to reanimate 
the earth and skies. But life is a time when God may be seen 
standing with outstretched hands, crying over land and sea: 
“ All day long I stand with outstretched hands”—hands wide 
extended as if to enfold the world in one embrace of love. 
And from these hands, once for sinners spiked, there trickle 
down the sparkling gems of saving grace and truth. And ah! 


392 


LIFE. 


what a harvest is springing from the seeds that‘this husband¬ 
man has been scattering! There are also admonishing, threat¬ 
ening hands, and the fact that these hands offer all needful 
help, encouragement and support, leads us to believe that life 
will end their present disposition, that life will end our proba¬ 
tion, that those hands now so pleadingly extended will take up 
the judge’s scepter, and that he who has rejected the Son of 
God and trampled underfoot his blood, has by his own power 
swung the gate of future weal or woe. And the fact that a 
better offer could not possibly be made under such favorable 
circumstances, and also the fact that by rejecting he has 
under the power of habit become less likely to accept Christ 
if even offered after death, he has swung himself beyond the 
limits of probation with scarcely a brittle thread to which to 
cling. 

The Bible maps out no path from writhing torments to bliss¬ 
ful rewards, but rather fixes the impassable gulf. Turn from 
fancy’s cloud-built scheme of a probation beyond ! Rely upon 
the word of God. It alone goes out into that realm—no other 
divining rod reaches thither. 

Life is the seedtime. In the morning then of time sow thy 
seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand. Sow where 
the dew of heaven may fall. The gospel sickle garners for 
heaven and future woe. 

“ Scatter the gems of the beautiful 
In the depths of the human soul; 

They shall bud and blossom and bear fruit 
While the endless ages roll. 

Plant with the flowers of charity 
The portals of the tomb, 

And the fair and the pure above thy path 
In Paradise shall bloom.” 


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YOUTH—ITS JOYS AND DANGERS. 



REV. D. H. REITER, A. M., FULTON, MICH. 


OUTH IS not only an interesting, but a most im¬ 
portant period of human life. It is the period 
most favorable to lay the foundation for a pure, 
useful, and beautiful life. There is something of 
innocence upon the youthful face, as the index of 
a corresponding comparative innocence within. 
The shadows of sin are not put so dark upon the 
countenance nor its stains so deep in the heart. The stream 
of life, like all streams, is purest and freshest near the foun¬ 
tain. The life of the young scion is fresh, healthy, beautiful, 
and vigorous in its early growth. He looks forward to promi¬ 
nence, and visionary air castles float in clear skies and bright 
sunshine before his youthful imagination. He launches his 
trusting bark on life’s troubled sea; he has no fears, he 
suspects no danger, and glides on as gaily and unconcernedly 
as the morning birds fly in the summer air above him. But 
treacherous shoals and hidden rocks lie in his way. His very 
gladness and hope have lulled him to an unsafe repose. His 
eye is not quick to discern the appearance of danger, yet it is 
near him. Storms of temptation are already strong about him, 
driving him towards the fatal reefs along which have dashed 
and wrecked many a gallant bark—the breakers of an over¬ 
mastering ambition, or of a raging and ruinous lust. The 
ideals of his imagination suddenly assume the shape of dry 
reality, and the experience of a celebrated philosopher (Fichte) 
in early life, is the experience of many now. He said : u I 
started out with my head full of grand projects, which all burst 
one after another like so many soap-bubbles, without leaving 
me so much as the froth.” 

Life’s morning is its loveliest season. 


“ Heaven lies about us in our infancy! 
Shades of the prison-house begin to close 
Upon the growing boy.” 


26 








394 


LIFE. 


Every word and action receives a beauteous hue from the 
fresh breath and dew of early day. It is the time to sow the 
good seed into the heart. It is the season to lay the founda¬ 
tions of the body, by temperate virtuous, and industrious 
habits; foundations of the mind, by studious discipline ; foun¬ 
dations of the soul, by learning the Scriptures, and forming 
habits of devotion and purity of life. 

Youth is the time to make beginnings and to resist begin¬ 
nings; to begin the right, to resist the wrong. The nearer infancy, 
the nearer Christ. The heart is tender, and unspoiled by sin¬ 
ful habits—the mind is not burdened with the thousand cares 
and drawbacks of later life. The memory is retentive—truth 
easily takes root, and takes it deep and durably. The chil¬ 
dren of Christian parents possess a peculiar religious aptitude. 
The prayers of childhood are not yet forgotten, and these form 
the most heavenly we ever learn. Napoleon never uttered a 
more important truth than when he said, u What France 
most needs is mothers.” The truth is equally applicable to 
our age. 

There are marks of divine workmanship upon the soul; and, 
as the early rain, and genial rays of the sun bring forth vege¬ 
table life on the earth, so the ethereal spark in the soul, if 
kindled, may shed light upon the world. The youth may 
have but one talent. Let him rely on that; let him cultivate 
it in earnest; let him resolve that, God helping him, it shall 
do the work assigned to it. Let him not, because he has not 
five or ten talents, go and bury it in a napkin. It is one 
talent—a Spiritual gift from the Father of all light. It is a 
germ which admits of a lustre that may shine long after suns 
shall have become dim, and stars shall have faded from the 
heavens. 

It is by no means the most brilliantly endowed intellects 
that are the most useful, or attain the highest distinction. The 
lustre of many a genius has faded early; and mental endow¬ 
ments that gave promise of the richest fruits have been Tvasted 
by irresolution or procrastination. The great mistake of 
many a youth is, in depending upon external advantages, 
rather than internal force. One prides himself upon the aris¬ 
tocracy of his ancestors; another, upon his father’s wealth; 
another, upon having been educated within the walls of a dis- 


LIFE. 


395 

tinguished college ; another, upon having travelled in foreign 
lands, and visited places and scenes connected with eminent 
heroes, poets, and orators. Now, either or all of these, if re¬ 
lied upon without accompanying inward force, will prove to 
be but broken reeds. In themselves, they have about as much 
to do with a man’s real worth, as the cut of his coat has to do 
with his character. 

The business of life having been carefully selected with a 
sound judgment, wise measures and unwavering moral prin¬ 
ciples, it must be persevered in, whatever difficulties or obsta¬ 
cles may be encountered. The eye must be steadily fastened 
upon the object before it, resolutely resisting the temptations 
to turn the allurements that would draw off and absorb its at¬ 
tention. The flowers by the wayside may be beautiful, the 
scenery may be enchanting, the music of the gay and frivolous 
may entice the ear; but the earnest soul must be willing to 
toil now, that it may accomplish its mission and enjoy the 
reward beyond. This steadiness of purpose, unwavering de¬ 
cision, and willingness to labor on amid sunshine or in storms, 
in adversity or in prosperity, is indispensible to success. Trials 
may prove heavy at times, but these may be turned to real 
blessings in disguise. They may bring out the mental quali¬ 
ties and foree of soul that could have been brought out in no 
other way. They may teach lessons of wisdom the benefits 
of which may be experienced through life. Oftentimes these 
seasons of perplexity and gloom are the turning points in life’s 
career—the test conflicts, the Waterloo battles, that decide 
great interests, and fix the youth’s destiny. And he who, in 
such an hour, conquers, will, ere long, see the dark clouds 
breaking away, and the stars of hope shining down upon him. 
Isaac Newton once modestly remarked, that he mainly 
excelled other men in the exercise of patience. 

No young man, whose character has not a religious and 
gracious basis is fitted for the duties and trials that await him. 
Life is a warfare. Its battles no one can evade. Its foes all 
must face. The question is, who shall conquer? The only 
way to secure a glorious victory, is to prepare for the fight. 
And this needs drilling—needs timely preparation, Those 
that ran in ancient times were trained to it from childhood. 
Our age is distinguished for societies and associated efforts for 


396 


LIFE. 


the accomplishment of a given object, and great good is the 
result of such unions of sympathy and energies. But we 
should guard against allowing our society membership to 
absorb or neutralize our individual responsibility. If you 
would accomplish your mission in the great battle of life, then 
let the calls of the age upon your humanity, zeal and moral 
integrity find a response in your heart. Resolve that, God 
helping, you will bow to no institutions, customs or opinions 
that are not founded upon the word of God. Resolve that you 
will be true to the principles of a living Christianity. Let the 
gospel-standard be your guide. Follow that and you can not 
err. Follow that and it will lead you to victory. And when 
the sun of your mortality sets behind the mountains of eter¬ 
nity, your eyes will rest upon the sparkling banners of the 
celestial city, and the towers and temples of an everlasting 
kingdom. The music of angels will fall upon your ears, and a 
crown of glory will adorn your brow. You will be at rest— 
“ The rest that remaineth for the people of God.” 


THE OPPORTUNITIES YOUNG MEN HAVE TO 
MAKE LIFE A SUCCESS. 



REV. FRANK WETZEL, A. B., DAKOTA, ILL. 


ACH INDIVIDUAL has a mission to fulfill. God 
has work for all. To accomplish this work, and do 
it as nearly perfect as possible, is our mission. 
Those who do this best are the most successful. 

To be successful in life does not mean to amass 
wealth, to gain the renown and plaudits of men, 
or to hold high positions. These may go hand in 
hand with other things, but in and of themselves 
they may be anything but an index of true success. 
To the world they indicate success, whilst in reality they 
may be the means of utter failure. The man dwelling in one 
of the poorest tenements of a Jay Gould, or Vanderbilt may be 











LIFE. 


397 

making life a success, whilst these men, with all their wealth, 
may be making a failure of life. The measure of success is 
the degree in which we accomplish the work God has given 
us to do, which is summed up in the two great command¬ 
ments, “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
soul, mind and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself.” The 
more perfectly we keep these commandments the more suc¬ 
cessful are we. If you would,* therefore, be truly successful, 
give your time, talents, and possessions to the service of God, 
and the well-being of your fellow-men. This comprehends 
more than the use of the possessions, talents, and powers of 
body and mind already at hand, for it includes an increase of 
our physical, mental, and spiritual powers, together with our 
possessions in order that we may be the better prepared to 
serve the Lord, and do good to one another. The man that 
returned the one talent without having used and increased it, 
was cast out. It is not enough, therefore, that we are satisfied 
with our present attainments, but it is a privilege we have, 
and a duty we owe to God, to develop our faculties to as 
great an extent as possible. This is one element in success. 

We may also use our faculties without developing them to 
their utmost capacity, and may even develop them in a 
wrong direction. In either case our life is a failure to that 
extent. Hence we would place before the youth of this age 
two objects to be attained by them. First, to develop all the 
powers of which they are the possessors to their fullest capac¬ 
ity, and, secondty. to use them in the service of God and in 
doing good to their fellow-men. 

The opportunities for accomplishing these ends are greater 
than they have ever been in any previous age. Young friend, 
look around you and behold the many opportunities offered 
you for developing your mental capacities. A public school 
is within your reach, where you may lay the foundation of 
that mental culture which will make you learned. Our col¬ 
leges, with their commercial, scientific, philosophical, and 
classical departments, together with the schools we have in 
law, medicine, and theology, offer to the youth of this age 
grand opportunities for developing their mental faculties, and 
thus preparing themselves for their life-work. 

When we consider the free school system, which offers the 


LIFE. 


398 

advantages of education to all, so that there is no excuse for 
any one being ignorant ; when we consider the great number 
of academies, colleges, and seminaries of learning which are 
scattered over this broad land of ours, where each one can 
receive an education at a cost so small that all may obtain it 
if they have only vim and perseverance; when we consider 
the vast number of excellent books and periodicals which are 
sent broad cast over this land at a price so low as to be within 
reach of every one; when we consider all this we have but 
a faint idea of the great inheritance which we have received 
from our fathers, the great opportunities afforded us to make 
life a success in the true sense of that term. 

To-day poverty is no barrier to learning. It is your priv¬ 
ilege, young friend, though living in poverty and obscurity, to 
have a well-developed mind, with a good store of knowledge. 
It being your privilege it is your duty. What you need is 
determination. 

But we are to love the Lord our God not only with our mind 
but also with our heart and soul, which implies that there is a 
spiritual side to our being which also needs cultivation and 
development, and without which it is utterly impossible to be 
truly successful. 

Never before were better opportunities offered the young for 
spiritual culture than at the present. The means necessary for 
this are to be found all around us. God has not given us a 
spirit without providing for its needs any more than he gave 
us a body to suffer for the want of food. The spirit needs 
food that it may develop. This food is found in Jesus Christ, 
the bread of eternal life, who says, “ I am the bread of life: 
he that cometh to me shall .never hunger; and he that believ- 
eth on me shall never thirst,” for u whoso eateth my flesh, and 
drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up 
at the last day.” In the sixth chapter of St. John’s gospel we 
are taught that Christ is the bread of eternal life, and there¬ 
fore our spiritual food. We partake of him by the Holy 
Ghost working in our hearts, through the preaching and study 
of the word of God, the ordinances of the church, the sacra¬ 
ments, prayer, and worship in all its forms. How many and 
grand, therefore, are the opportunities for partaking of this 
spiritual food, and thus developing ourselves spiritually. 


ILFE. 


399 

The church spire rears its head heavenward from every vil¬ 
lage, town, and city, where may be heard the preaching of 
the gospel from Sunday to Sunday, and where the influence 
of the Sunday-school and prayer-meeting, so essential to a 
successful life, may be enjoyed. The gospel is free to all, for 
the poor as well as the rich have it preached to them. Christ 
says, u Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all these 
things shall be added unto you.” Spiritual culture comes first 
to insure success in life.. Without this, life is a failure. 

How vast, therefore, are the resources which are at the dis¬ 
posal of the youth of this age to make life successful, includ¬ 
ing honest labor of different kinds, schools, colleges, and good 
books, of which there is no end. Hence if you are ignorant 
you are to blame; if you are dying spiritually it is your fault, 
and if your life is a failure the blame must rest with yourself. 

We often hear it said by young men that all the callings in 
life are full, and that many are making a poor living, which is 
true of quacks, but not of those who have well-developed 
minds, for it has been said by some one, u There is always 
room in the upper story.” Skilled labor is in great demand. 
A well-developed mind can always find employment. All 
have before them a vast field for usefulness. The opportuni¬ 
ties in this direction never were greater. 

To the readers of this article, whoever they may chance to 
be, the writer would say as a parting word, Resolve to make 
life a success; be determined to develop the faculties God 
has given you ; remember that one of the best ways to accom¬ 
plish this is to use them in his service ; do not suppose that in 
order to be successful you must amass wealth; use your God- 
given powers in the service of God and your fellow-men, that 
you may grow in strength of mind and body, as did Christ, 
who increased in wisdom, and stature, and in favor with God 
and man, and you will thus make life a success for time and 
eternity. 


MANHOOD. 


OOD, IN many respects, is the most impor- 
period of life. It is somewhat difficult to draw 
lividing line, which separates this period from 
me going immediately before. In one sense 
ly be said there is really no such line, as the 
s forces that have been at work before are now 
only carried up to a higher plane, and are intensified and 
directed to certain aims and ends. While the child grows in 
stature, the mind also develops and in its determinations and 
ideas becomes gradually more fixed and settled. When 
the period of manhood is entered upon the past feelings and 
intentions are, to a great extent, superceded by those that are 
more staple and real. Childhood and youth live largely in 
fancy, and are made up of ideals which are never realized. 
The man often is amused at the fancies of the child, yet 
remembers that he too once lived in the same world of unde¬ 
veloped thought—and indeed looks back upon that period of 
innocent life as the most pleasant of all. The body and the 
mind are both in a formative state, and are gradually approach¬ 
ing the goal of their full maturity, which being reached, the 
period of manhood commences. What his impressions and 
advantages are at this point will depend very much upon the 
preceding periods of life. The training of the past usually 
determines the trend of manhood. For this reason the early 
periods of life must not be lightly esteemed, as is often the 
case, with the supposition that a vigorous and robust manhood 
will overcome the defects of childhood and youth. Sometimes 
the after-life makes up what has been lost by a defective train¬ 
ing ; but such cases are the exceptions and not the rule. Man¬ 
hood is vigorous and robust only when the periods going before 
have accomplished their proper work. 

At the threshold of this period the man looks into the future 
with all his faculties in full play and begins the real work of 
life. The body is now fully developed. Its growth is com- 







LIFE. 


401 

plete and he carries with his bodily form the impress of a 
superior existence. While the body has been growing the 
mind has also developed in a corresponding degree, so that he 
is now in both respects a perfect man. Up to this time he has 
depended largely on his parents, who have fed, clothed, 
trained and directed him. From this time forth he must 
depend upon his own exertions. A world of solemn realties 
lies before him where he is to find the sphere in which he is to 
do his work. If he is clothed in his right mind, the tendencies 
of his nature will lead him into the busy world to satisfy the 
cravings of his nature. Thus it has always been and will 
always be so that the most important duties of true manhood 
are properly to direct and control the restless energies of our 
human life. At this point also other forces begin to show 
themselves—though these can only be seen in the general 
conduct of the man. The buoyancy of youth has given place 
to a serious and calm consideration of the higher claims and 
duties of life. The expression of his face gives evidence that 
he is endeavoring to solve the problems of life as they present 
themselves. He lives in the present, but has his face turned 
toward the future, endeavoring to anticipate what is in store 
for him. By the care which he thus exercises and the energy 
which he displays, must his character be determined, so far as 
the physical life is concerned. He puts his will-powers to the 
test and determines what his standing shall be in society. 
Noble aims and ends, pursued with unflagging energy, will give 
a man an honorable standing among his fellows. In this every 
man must determine his own destiny. The child, with its 
undeveloped will-powers, cannot control its actions as the fully 
developed man can. He now plunges into the world of busi¬ 
ness and seeks out the directions in which he will have his 
life to move. If he has the elements of true manhood he 
cannot do otherwise; He may seek the peaceful haunts of 
the man of letters, he may try to satisfy the cravings of his 
soul in some one of the learned professions, he may go into 
the marts of trade and there battle for the mastery and amass 
a fortune, he may withdraw himself from the busy world and 
investigate the processes of nature, or he may turn his face 
heavenward and find out the laws which regulate the heavenly 
bodies, or discover worlds far out in the immensity of space. 


402 


LIFE. 


In any or all these he may find a wide range for the exercise 
of his powers. In these labors, which satisfy the demands of 
a busy life, he also finds the means for his own maintenance 
and those whom God has entrusted to his care. It is the law 
of true manhood to accumulate the blessings of life. He can¬ 
not be indifferent to these and therefore seeks them for his 
own comfort and the benefit of his family and others in need. 
True manhood seeks not its own good only, but finds its highest 
mission in alleviating the distresses of others. This, indeed, 
is one of its distinctive features. There is something noble in 
the man who is honest in all his dealings, prompt in the fulfill¬ 
ment of his promises, obedient to lawful authority, kind to the 
poor and needy, willing to lend a helping hand to those who 
need assistance, ruling well his own house and exercising with, 
moderation the authority he may have over others, and last 
but most important of all, moral in his conduct. Such a man 
is worthy the respect and will command the confidence of his 
fellows. Such an one has not only attained true manhood, but 
is also manly in all his conduct. There are those who have 
attained the age of manhood, but lack that sturdy manliness 
which characterizes all good men. They are dishonest, tricky, 
deceitful, low and vulgar, not because of ignorance, but 
because of a depraved nature which they do not even attempt 
to make better, and therefore lacks the elements of true man¬ 
hood, as well as the graces that produce a substantial manli¬ 
ness. 

But in the consideration of this subject, we must not leave 
out of sight the moral and religious side of man’s nature. 
When we speak of morality we refer now to the form of it, 
which can only come from a vital union with Christ, out of 
whom there can be no true morality. Manhood, to be com¬ 
plete in all its relations, must find its meaning in the religion 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity alone can give char¬ 
acter to our nature. While a man may be active in all that 
belongs to his earthly life, and stand among his fellow men as 
a model of honesty and uprightness, yet all this, good as it 
is, does not make him the man that God intends him to be. 
To meet all the demands of his nature he must give heed to 
the religious element which is continually seeking utterance. 
Man, to be a harmonious whole, must cultivate the moral and 


LIFE. 


403 


religious feelings as well as those which bind him to the 
physical world. They both need to be cultivated and con¬ 
trolled. And it is only as this is done that he can stand in 
proper relation to God and the world. Man’s true light is in 
Jesus Christ, and it is only as this shines upon him that he can 
be illuminated so as to meet the responsibilities resting upon 
him. To bring this about it is necessary that he believe notin 
God as the Creator—or in the Bible as the inspired word of 
God, but in Jesus Christ, the word made flesh. To believe in 
him in a saving way is not simply to give the assent of the 
mind to the f act that he is the Savior, or to admit that he is 
all that the Scriptures represent him to be, but it is the office 
of true faith to yield humbly to him for salvation. Jesus says: 
w I am the light of the world, he that followeth me shall not 
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Thus he 
declares himself to be the true light and life. If so, then this 
acceptance of Christ completes the man. When he has all 
the other elements of manhood, this completes the work. And 
this will modify the whole life, and keep it in harmony with 
the world and God. It will enable him to do his duty toward 
God and man, and without he can do neither. In Christ man 
is free from the wrath of a just God and from the bondage of 
a sinful world. This is perfect freedom and true manhood.— 
Foust. 



IDEALS OF LIFE. 


REV. E. D. WETTACH, A. B., REEDSBURG, 0. 


DEALS AKE suggestions of a higher life : proph¬ 
ecies of a grander future. They are golden ladders 
of hope, lifting man above the things seen in the 
purer atmosphere of heaven’s own day. They flit 
before our minds in airy forms, as with a wizard’s 
wand, beckoning us to higher realms of faith, and 
hope, and duty. They are living utterances of the 
indwelling prophet of light, betokening; in the 
solitude of their own originality, a better world than this. 

When the youthful spirit passes out of its dotage, entering 
its early manhood, visions of greatness and goodness rise up 
before it. The lives of the great and good of earth pass in 
review, and it cries out: u I shall be like them some time— 
I shall be great and good—I shall be prosperous and useful.” 
The “ I shall be ” urges the young immortal forward in his 
mission of conquest in this world, according to what is said : 

“ Lives of great men, all remind us— 

We can make our lives sublime, 

And departing leave behind us— 

Footprints on the sands of time.” 

In all spheres of life men are forming images, and creating 
ideals, toward which their highest aspirations tend. These 
pictures urge men forward in their onward course in the ful¬ 
fillment of their destiny. He lives poorly indeed who lives 
only in the present, whose hopes and ambitions rise no higher 
than the outward and the physical. 

All men have their ideals. Some are mere obstructions, 
pictures that fancy forms. The artist’s ideal, formed in the 
solitude of his own soul, only waits the painter’s brush to make 
it tangible. The sculptor, seeing angel-forms in the huge 
block of marble, with hammer and chisel makes the spiritual 
conception of his soul real to our vision and to our thought. 








LIFE. 


405 


The poet, inspired with lofty conceptions of truth and duty, 
takes his pen and gives to the world his ideals in “ thoughts 
that breathe, and words that burn.” These pictures of char¬ 
acter and life, written by the finger of God upon the soul are 
incentives to grand and heroic action. Others, and by far the 
larger number—for painters, sculptors, and poets are few— 
find their ideals in concrete forms, in the person, character, 
or work of another. 

The student places before him men of broad and enlightened 
culture. He sees unexplored fields of knowledge spread out 
before him in the distant future, and longs to enter and gather 
the rich treasures of wisdom. In the pursuit of his ideal his 
capabilities enlarge; his mind expands; his sensibilities are 
quickened; and his soul purified. Thus, passing from ideal 
to ideal, he enters the jeweled sanctuary of science, where he 
holds sweet communion with the holy beings that worship at 
her vestal shrines. 

The Christian minister has his ideal. He has some pattern 
of a preacher and pastor after which he models his life and 
ministry. The work already done, and victory won, are only 
stepping-stones to grander achievements, and more willing 
services. He husbands all his powers that he may attain the 
perfect ideal seen in Jesus Christ, the Prophet and Priest of 
humanity, who “ came not to be ministered unto, but to min¬ 
ister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” 

The Christian, too, finds his ideal in Jesus Christ, the Son 
of the Everlasting Father. He finds his model in him, whose 
life and teaching were “ beautiful as the light, sublime as 
heaven, true as God.” They, who worship at virtue’s altars, 
who drink deeply from the crystal streams flowing from the 
fountain of God’s love, and offer love’s willing sacrifice, imi¬ 
tate Christ the highest ideal of excellence, whose life and 
character embody all that is beautiful; all that is true, and 
good. There was no cant, no hypocrisy in him, so that we feel 
warranted- in saying, adopting the language of another: 
“ Whatsoever may be the surprises of the future, Jesus Christ 
will never be surpassed. His worship will grow young with¬ 
out ceasing ; his sufferings will melt the noblest hearts.” In 
him the Christian finds a perfect pattern of disinterested be¬ 
nevolence and love; a model of humility and devotion to duty. 


406 


LIFE. 


the perfect ideal of what life ought to be. Unlike the sages 
of ancient and modern times, who gave to the world excellent 
moral codes, Christ gives those, who are in him the noblest 
manhood, and those who trust in him, the power to run so as 
to obtain, and to become more and more transformed into the 
perfect ideal of character and life as seen in the great original. 
Looking to him our mission will be— 

“ To honor God, to benefit mankind, 

To serve with lofty gifts the lowly needs 
Of the poor race for which the God-man died, 

And do it all for love.” 

From Christ, the late William E. Dodge, of N. Y., the prince 
of Christian merchants, drew his inspiration; from him ex- 
Governor Morgan learned the wisdom of consecrating wealth 
with our noblest talents to God and humanity: from him 
the lamented Garfield learned that piety—a life of faith and 
obedience—ennobles statesmanship ; from him the missionary 
gets inspiration and strength for a holy life of martyrdom. 
From him the humblest disciple learns the worth and the 
grandeur of life. 

It is well to set before us noble types of manhood. With 
the limitations of our fallen nature, the highest attainment 
falls below the loftiest ideal, yet it is well to place perfect 
patterns before us. As artists with faulty models fail in giv¬ 
ing perfect pictures, so the Christians with imperfect patterns 
fails to develop the noblest character. It is well to remember 
that high aims require patient years of labor, without which 
all is visionary and futile. Rome was not built in a day, 
neither are the highest characters and lives chiseled in an 
hour. 

In our strivings after something grander and better than we 
have ever experienced or known before, we develop the 
noblest powers of our being. In moulding character and 
fashioning manhood we rise step by step toward the realiza¬ 
tion of the ideal character seen in Christ, until we pass the 
bounds of life, the soul leaping into eternity, where the loftiest 
ideal is an eternal reality. 

With the aspirations of the soul after a nobler and better 
life, we feel, with Bulwer, “That we are born for a higher 
destiny than that of earth ; that there are realms where the 


LIFE. 


407 


rainbow never fades; where the stars will be spread out 
before us like islands slumbering in the ocean, and where 
those that have passed before us like shadows, will remain in 
our presence forever. 


THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF LIFE. 


REV. S. MASE, B. S., MASSILLON, OHIO. 


IFE IS the gift of Deity. It is clothed with moral 
and spiritual excellence. Upon man rests the 
crown of intelligence. He is vastly superior to 
the creatures by which he is surrounded. Endowed 
with plastic powers and expansive faculties, he is 
qualified to achieve a great and important mission- 
An understanding heart is given him that he may 
i walk in wisdom’s ways. A still small voice within, 
and an open revelation before him, are ever indicating the 
course to be pursued, amid the intricacies and perplexities of 
this earthly existence. To realize the greatest good in life we 
must heed the counsel of God as given in the Bible and in 
conscience. 

We are moral agents. Our duties, as such, are obligatory. 
They 'are really levied upon‘life, not arbitrarily, but with wis¬ 
dom and equity. We can no more ignore these and be true 
to our moral nature, than we can refuse to pay tribute to civil 
government and still be accounted loyal subjects. Moral and 
religious duties are imperative. Like taxes they are of bind¬ 
ing force. Assessed upon human kind, and varying in some 
respects according to the equipments of life, they demand such 
prompt and faithful discharge, as every honest obligation 
universally merits. Though exacted of us they do not destroy 
our free agency. This is grounded in conforming to the rules 
and regulations of God’s divine economy. Living and moving 
in harmony with the laws which he has ordained and pre¬ 
scribed is, and alone can be, true freedom. The more com- 













408 


LIFE. 


plete the agreement of our lives with his requirements, the 
more happy our estate, and the more unique our spiritual 
liberty. 

The chief duty of life is submission to God as our just sov¬ 
ereign. His breath woke us into existence. Over us he 
asserts the right of unlimited possession. He upholds and 
perpetuates our being. We are constant pensioners upon the 
divine goodness. Our meat and drink, yea the multitudinous 
blessings which we enjoy, proceed from the Giver of all gifts. 
His dealings with us are the outflowings of love. The entire 
history of his relations to man is redolent of mercy and com¬ 
passion. He is more solicitous concerning our present and 
future welfare, and more interested in the happiness of his 
creatures than all other beings together. When the race was 
estranged from him by transgression, he mercifully provided 
a medium of reconciliation. The yawning chasm of sin was 
bridged over and heaven made accessible by the unspeakable 
sacrifice of his well-beloved son. The sweet assurance now 
salutes our ears: “ Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise 
cast out.” O, precious declaration! Every prodigal may 
return and experience the tender embraces of his covenant 
care and keeping, and participate in the vast scheme of 
redemption, and in the enduring felicity of its consummation. 
What heart will spurn the overtures of mercy ? What soul 
will repel the wooings of infinite love ? Surely our duties to 
God should be the first objects of our attention. With him 
for our portion we can need and desire nothing more. He 
alone can satisfy the yearnings of our deathless spirits. In him 
all fullness meets and dwells, and overflows for the benefit of 
his dependent creatures. To him we owe our love, our hom¬ 
age, our service, and our all. 

Sustaining such a relation to God, our relation to our fellow 
men will be commendable. Love to Our neighbor is the main 
duty enjoined in the second table of the law. Upon this rests 
the whole fabric of social happiness. In primitive times men 
dwelt in alienation. They regarded each other with mutual 
dislike and suspicion. But a new and better era has dawned 
upon the race. The religion of Jesus of Nazareth has intro¬ 
duced the reign of love, and is carrying it forward to comple¬ 
tion. It teaches that all men have the same essential interests,. 


LIFE. 


409 


and the same intimate relations to one common parent. View¬ 
ing the race as one great brotherhood, it recommends such 
reciprocation of love and esteem as prevails in our private 
families—for here is the same community of interests, and 
the same interchange of services, only on a more extended 
scale. Recognizing and appreciating the fact, that the rights 
of our neighbor are as sacred, his happiness as valuable, and 
his relation to God as near as our own, we are prepared to love 
him according to the divine requirement. Love is the fulfilling 
of the law. It comprehends all the social virtues. Possessing 
this distinguished grace we will assuredly perform every duty 
which we owe to men. 

Equally important are the duties which we owe to ourselves. 
No man is justified in neglecting his own interests. Life is a 
trust. It is to be cultivated and improved. Carefully guarded, 
controlled and utilized, it should be made to subserve the 
greatest usefulness. We are responsible beings. We must 
give an account of our stewardship. And only by fearing 
God and keeping his commandments can we fulfill our allotted 
mission, and be found blameless in the day of eternal awards. 



I 









THE CARES AND PERPLEXITIES OF LIFE. 


REV. JOHN V. POTTS, BRADFORD, 0. 


“ When along life’s thorny road, 

Faints the soul beneath the load, 

By its cares and sins oppressed, 

Finds on earth no peace or rest; 

When the wily tempter’s near, 

Filling us with doubt and fear, 

Jesus, to thy feet we flee; 

Jesus, we will look to thee.” 

AN IS born to care. Life must have its burdens, 
and these have their weight. There is no shining 
pathway free of thorns, hills or stones. Rains and 
storms come ever and anon, and make ruts, mud 
and bad roads. Life is a journey, and the way, 
rough or smooth, must be passed over. Life has 
its sunshine and its shadows. We do not despise 
the one, the other we can not avoid. Only in the 
haven of rest on the ever-green shore are we freed from the 
cares and perplexities of life. There existence is a boon; 
here it often seems to be a curse. Only in the outcome, in the 
aggregate, when the sum of life is before us in the beyond, 
can we tell to a certainty the true results of the present life. 
But m,uch depends upon us. As we know and do the Master’s 
will here, so shall we be happy hereafter. Even in time the 
radiant beams of the better world gleam on us to make our 
burdens lighter, and our lives brighter. We gain much by 
study and labor, and patience and endurance. Let us study 
the darker side of life,, to see its meanings, and what light 
there is in its darkness. Thus may we the better avoid some 
of the ills of human kind, and the better endure those that 
are unavoidable. We may even profit by our mistakes and 
wrongs. 

Care means thought. It is so derived. Care comes from 
mental action. It is born of mind. If there were no thoughts, 
there would be no care. But the sense of this word is carried 











LIFE. 


411 

farther, and is used to express anxious thought and concern. 
A tree has no care. It grows and dies. It knows nothing, 
learns nothing, enjoys nothing, and has no hereafter. The 
brute, although higher in the scale of being, can hardly be 
said to have much care, being controlled by instinct not by 
thought. 

Perplex is a word of emphatic meaning. It is intensive. 
It seems to come from the root-word to plant , to braid , to 
interweave , and refers to anything that worries or puzzles us; 
something that we cannot readily comprehend. Paul says he 
was perplexed, but not in despair.” To be in despair is to 
be without means, to be so at a loss as not to know what to 
do, or which way to turn. It means also to be in doubt. Paul 
was vexed, worried, and in a measure hemmed in on every 
side. He found things mingled and commingled together, as 
different kinds of thread in a cord or piece of cloth. But he 
knew the right, detected the wrong, and hence knew how to 
set about making the separation, and was not in despair. 

Perplexities arise in this life from the intermingling of the 
good and bad. They are often so woven together in our own 
nature, in our families, in our friends, in the community, in 
the Church, in civil government, in the world, that it becomes 
exceedingly difficult to separate them, to choose the good and 
cast the bad away. We must know, discriminate, decide, 
accept some things, and reject others. But this process often 
becomes very painful and embarrassing. The stoutest heart 
may here hesitate or fail. 

If there were no sin in the world, there would be no per¬ 
plexities. But sin entangles us in many anxious thoughts, 
and strange straits. Our ignorance brings care and perplexity. 
No man knows every thing. We come into the world know¬ 
ing as it were nothing. Almost everything is to be learned. 
And only after much effort and worry do we learn the 
simple lessons of life, how to be good, useful, and happy. This 
u much study which we undergo to free ourselves from igno¬ 
rance and prejudice ” is a weariness of the flesh. 

Our weakness brings us care and perplexity. If we were 
strong enough, and wise enough, to make no mistakes, and 
successfully meet all the demands and oppositions of life, we 
could go right along with but little anxiety and bear down 


412 


LIFE. 


every opposing force in our way, lifting up into a higher and 
better life, many with whom we come in contact. To those 
of us who aim to do right, our sins give us care and anxiety. 
Who lives and sins not? Yet we must try to live without sin, 
and should sin less every year and month. What thought, and 
prayer, what life-struggles, what heart-aches, what straits our 
sins bring us into; and then the effort to free ourselves, what 
crying and tears. 

Our friends , how much we wish them success. Yet they 
do not always follow our best wishes for their welfare. They 
make us care, hours of anxious thought, and perplexity. 
Often they hinder rather than help us in our work ; and bring 
us sadness rather than joy. 

Our families , shall we not enjoy them ? but what a world 
of care comes with the family! The mother’s heart bubbles 
with sweet joy from the well-spring of life in her own heart, 
but the bitter draught comes, and dries up the stream, • and 
leaves an arid bed of earth, almost like the solid rock. The 
father is often at his wit’s end to know how to meet the 
demands of a growing family, or how best to manage his way¬ 
ward boys, or control obstinate girls just budding into beauti¬ 
ful womanhood. Enemies , too, watch us with malignant 
hatred. They are envious at our success. They rejoice at 
our failures. They devise measures to injure us. “They lie 
in wait to deceive,” and u sleep not unless they cause some 
one to fall.” We must guard against them, or we will fall an 
easy prey to their arts. They vex and perplex us, and rejoice 
in our annoyance. 

Life is a medley, and the scenes are by no means all alike. 
Truth and error are so blended, and error so often comes in 
the garb of truth, that without the most careful thought the 
one may be mistaken for the other. Then error mixes with 
truth. They must be separated. Things are sometimes partly 
right, and partly wrong, so that we must discriminate and 
separate, which brings worry. 

Then our surroundings are often so very peculiar. They 
are new, and to us untried. They are what we never expect¬ 
ed, and could not have anticipated. But we are here, and 
cannot help it. We can neither retreat nor stand still. We 
must act, but what shall we do ? Which way shall we turn ? 


LIFE. 


What mother expects to be left a helpless widow ? What 
confident man expects the aim of his life to be broken? 
What Abraham is there that expects to be called upon to 
offer up his only son ? Could Joseph have anticipated the 
love and treachery of the king’s wife to so work together for 
his social and political ruin? Thus our very surroundings 
bring their cares and perplexities. They sweep in upon us 
from all sides, and happy is he who finds relief by casting all 
his cares on him who careth for us. 

Still much depends upon ourselves. Many persons make 
themselves much care; others borrow trouble in advance; 
others carry cares that never come. There is much in the 
disposition of persons, and the spirit with which we meet the 
issues of life. One may fret, fuss, and fume all the time, and 
instead of bettering only aggregate the ills of life. It is safe 
to say that most of the cares and vexations of life are made. 
Man’s inhumanity to man; with his inconsideration in some 
directions, and his far seeing selfishness in others makes many 
millions mourn. And until men cease to seek self above all 
else, and learn to work for each other’s good, it must be so. 

We believe that families should live separate. It was so 
designed by almighty God. But still families may do much 
to bless each other. They can work together in the general 
affairs of life. They can sympathize with each other, and 
often lighten the burdens of life by mutual help. So of com¬ 
munities. They can work among themselves and concentrate 
their efforts in the common cause of humanity, or they may 
work outward and scatter the last results of their united 
effort. The aggregate thought of any community is worth 
more than any isolated meditation of a single individual. We 
are in this world to be mutual helpers. Care is lightened, 
and perplexity diminished as we wisely and rightly co-operate. 
The church is designed to concentrate mutual help, for we 
are here workers together with God. Sin and ignorance are 
the chief causes of our anxious cares, and painful perplexities; 
as these are lifted the radiant light of heaven shines in upon 
our hearts and homes, the community and the commonwealth 
The church is a renovating power among men, and carries in 
its bosom the elements of a better, higher, holier, and happier 
life. God has promised to meet his people in the church. 


414 


LIFE. 


The highest ideal of the church realized in actual life will make 
almost a heaven of earth. But we may not always get the 
help we think we need and deserve. What then ? Cry, fight, 
complain, and show an ungracious spirit? Certainly not! 
This would be wrong, yea, positively wicked. Care only 
lightly disturbs those who have a sweet spirit. A sore hand 
is often painful in the softest breeze. So a fretful, sour, fault¬ 
finding, selfish, suspicious spirit is often chafed by the sweet- 
ets blessings from heaven, and is often exasperated by the 
asperities of life. What the generous heart will bear with 
equanimity, the fretful soul will writhe under as in the sever¬ 
est agonies of death. The sensualist may bear the ills of life 
with the indifference of the brute, the scientific unbeliever 
with the pride and stubbornness of the military hero who 
said the burning coals were u a bed of roses,” but the Christ¬ 
ian bears them with a cheerful submission, a happy resigna¬ 
tion, and a manly determination of mitigating them as far as 
possible. We have a duty, all of us, in these things, which is 
to remedy all we can; avoid what we may, and lighten where 
it is at all possible, u Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so 
fulfill the law of Christ; ” be helpful in life; a smile may 
seal a blessing to some saddened heart; and bear with Chris¬ 
tian grace those that cannot be avoided. Our burdens often 
become less by helping others to carry their’s, for in this case 
God helps both. 

Let us meet the cares and perplexities of life with consider¬ 
ation, and not be as the u unthinking horse that rushes into 
'battle.” The mind is given us to think. Hence we should 
use our powers aright. 

The cares of life are to be met with prayer , which dispels 
many a grief, lightens many a burden, breaks many a cloud, 
solves many a difficulty, unravels many a perplexing doubt, 
defeats many an enemy, and wins many a battle. Prayer, 
faith, and works, in due proportion, are agencies that move 
heaven and earth. He who knows how to wield them has 
nothing to fear. God is pledged to his support and protection. 
We are to bear the ills of life with due submission. Fretting 
does not mend, but mars our lives. To fight against the cares 
and corners of life which we cannot avoid or prevent, is a 
most silly warfare. It is as one beating the air, or clubbing 


LIFE. 


415 

the rock against which he has unwittingly struck his toe. He 
who spits against the wind, spits in his own face, and he who 
kicks the stone, over which he stumbles, only bruises his own 
foot. We should improve by our cares and perplexities, and 
become better under them. It is a poor apology to say that 
our trials have spoiled our tempers. The bad temper was 
doubtless in you before the perplexities came. They gave you 
an excuse for showing out what was in you before. You have 
succeeded in hiding the matter thus far. But now it is out, 
and you are ashamed of it, and wish and apology. Improve! 
improve! we repeat because of its importance. Our cares 
and vexations should make us better. They are an educating 
force. Then let us accept of them cheer fully. Why not love 
our school-masters? They are at times severe, it is true, but 
afterward they u yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness.” 
Carry them to the Master. He will help you. u Take them 
to the Lord in Prayer.” 

They have their uses. God u tempers the winds to the shorn 
lamb.” You may press the question, What profit can there 
be in all these cares? Why should my soul thus be vexed? 
They check us in our waywardness; teach us some of the sub- 
limest lessons in life, and perfect us through suffering. They 
cause us to grow, and strengthen our Christian graces; they 
prepare us for usefulness, and fit us for greater feats of 
strength, and more important fields of duty and activity. 
They test our strength, for without them we should not know 
our power of endurance, our progress in the divine life, or fit¬ 
ness for the work before us. God prepares us for our work by 
laying upon us the burden of care. He tests our wisdom by 
putting us in the midst of the most perplexing surroundings. 
Hence they show us our weakness, and suggest to us the 
points in our character that most need attention and improve¬ 
ment. They drive us to God, and teach us our dependence 
on him, who is our help, enabling us to say: 

Be tranquil, 0 my soul, 

Be quiet every fear! 

Thy Father hath control, 

And he is ever near. 

Ne’er of thy lot complain, 

Whatever may befall; 

Sickness, or care, or pain, 

’Tis well-appointed all.” 


CHOOSING A PROFESSION. 



REV. R. KELLER, A. B., GERMANO, OHIO. 


OUNG MAN, I suppose you think you are about 
old enough and wise enough to start out in life for 
yourself. No doubt you have looked over the vast 
field of busy life and considered all the employ¬ 
ments you could see, and read about and think of; 
you must have gone to the cabinet shop, store, 
farm, railroad, silversmith and bank, and yet you 
have hard work to make a choice. But you are determined. 
Well, I deeply sympathize with you, for I think you are really 
in earnest in seeking out a life-work. 

While you have been a beggar for some time and u Knocked 
at each one of life’s doors and entered none,” let me bid you 
hasten slowlv. 


i.—ON SELF. 


You are about to take an important step. That you do not 
propose to be a vagrant or tramp, forever, commends you 
so far, but you may have made a fearful mistake. The 
door that you would enter swings upon golden hinges, but 
doubtless for you, just now, the inscription above it serves you 
a better purpose—it is in words of gray antiquity, u Know 
thyself.” 

I can say with no little confidence that, to start with, you 
have had your attention too much upon the profession and too 
little upon yourself. You have been engaged too much about 
what you might make, sell or deal in, plows, wagons, cattle, 
groceries, books, notes, drafts, etc., dead things, whose only 
activity is the handling them, while yourself, the living think¬ 
ing subject, has been forgotten. I fear you have fallen in line 
with the 


“ * * * thousands among men who heed not the leaning of their 
talents, 

But cutting against the grain toil on to no good end. 

The blind at an easel, the palsied with a graver, the halt making for 
the goal, 










LIFE. 


417 

The deaf ear tuning psaltery, the stammerer discoursing eloquence— 
What wonder if all fail! 

By knowledge of self thou knowest thy powers; 

Consider thy failings, heed thy propensities, search out thy latent vir¬ 
tues, 

Analyze the doubtful, cultivate the good, and crush the head of evil. ,, 

As the wise master questions the strange pupil before assign¬ 
ing him a place, so sound your own inclinations to the bottom, 
despise not the advice of trusted friends and meekly counsel 
God, so will your selection be wise. 

II.—ON MOTIVE. 

The father may say, w Boy, go West, where the roads to 
wealth are smooth and short.” The mother may say, u My 
son, you engage as a compositor that the name and honor of a 
great journalist may soon adorn your life.” The brother or 
sister may say, u No, but enter the military academy, that your 
chances for greatness may be the more certain.” Away with 
such base motives. There are better rewards to be coveted 
than wealth or fame which perish with their using (when 
grasped for selfish ends), but virtue lives long, honesty and 
integrity are not wasted at every noon day, whilst pure 
motives leading to pure vocation, produce sounds that awaken 
responsive tones in the eternal Father’s heart. 

Let those who will, enlist with Bonaparte simply because he 
has said that God is on the side of the strongest batallions, 
but as for you, let your motive be to do right whether with 
few or many, doing life’s work nobly and well, loving and 
praising God with the unfaltering conviction that one smile 
from Christ is better than the applause of worlds. One young 
man may allow the motive for wealth to plunge him into the 
medical or legal profession; another by the motive for fame 
may be charmed into a private’s duties as a stepping-stone to 
the higher rank and splendor of a conquering hero; another 
may suffer the enticing motive of a good name, to fasten its 
hooks of steel into his nose and lead him along to pollute even 
the sacred office of the ministry of God’s word. 

My dear young friend, however long and hard you have tried 
to make choice of a profession, and however anxious you may 
be to bring the matter to a conclusion, remember motive is 


418 


LIFE. 


much; it is the unseen power that moves. The motive is 
yours, and God will enable you to put it to the test at the bar 
of your conscience, whether it is right or wrong. Be sure you 
are upright and honest in your choice, then 

“ Go forth ’mong men, not mailed in scorn 
But in the armor of a pure intent. 

And whether crowned or crownless when you fall 
It matters not, so as God’s work is done.” 

III.—ON COURAGE. 

When you have found for yourself a professional work-shop, 
and you have an adaptation for the work, and conscience 
approves, then it is meanest cowardice to enter with fear and 
trembling. When the dog’s sagacity enables him to discern 
that our courage fails, his begins to rise and we are bitten and 
are about as much to blame as the dog, especially when a 
manly tread, or a courageons look might have succeeded in 
keeping the cur at barking instead of encouraging him to bite. 

Again I would ask you to look up and read as the ancient 
traveler upon the gates of Busyrane, on the first gate, “ Be 
bold,” and on the second gate, “ Be bold, be bold, and ever¬ 
more be bold,” and then paused as he read on the third gate, 
“ Be not too bold.” Judgment must not recede too much, but 
as that has been prominently active in the steps already taken, 
now zeal or a manful and righteous courage is demanded. 

If you have done your duty thus far in determining your 
fitness and inclinations, and seeking an honorable calling, then 
it is no time to stand shivering on the brink. If up to this 
time you have determined that you are right, now is the time 
to go ahead —just now , and God will help you. 

Do you still falter and murmur: “0, the profession is 
crowded?” This is a delusive suggestion. Where there are 
noble, conscientious, sympathizing, well-equipped, manly men, 
there the ranks are thin enough and always room for such 
young recruits as come with a valiant spirit and a good armor, 
who come to benefit humanity and to glorify God. 

The giant sons of Anak and the cities fenced and walled, 
terrify only the cowardly heart, but before those who advance 
with a righteous courage, these defenses fade, these reputed 
giants quail, and the walls crumble forever. 


LIFE. 


419 

Be courageous and press forward. Be a Caleb, ready to 
occupy the promised inheritance, though menacing foes are 
on every hand; be a David to go forward, though with meager 
armor on, to meet the mailed Philistine ; be a Paul to follow 
the line of duty by land or sea—no, in a word be a Christian, 
and your life shall have imparted to it the sweetest savor and 
an unfading power. 


SUCCESS IN LIFE. 


PROF. F. P. MATZ, PH. D., TIFFIN, 0. 

HE FAVORABLE or prosperous termination of 
any thing attempted, may be premised as a defini¬ 
tion of success. In the proper and harmonious 
development of the faculties, which God has given 
us, consists success in life. 

The essence of manly character, truthfulness, 

. integrity, goodness, and strength of purpose, we 
will assume as the paramount requisite toward a successful 
life. He who possesses this requisite is armed with a weapon 
most formidable; and his preparation for fighting the great 
battle of life, is admirably excellent. 

The essence of manly character strengthened by a liberal 
education, is to a young man a power to do good, to resist 
evil, to overcome difficulties, and to bear up under adversity ; 
a power that is well-nigh irresistible. 

The man, especially the young man, desirous of being suc¬ 
cessful in life, should examine himself carefully; and, by so 
doing, ascertain correctly what sphere in life he is naturally 
destined, and specially adapted, to fill. In other words, the 
young man who possesses the natural characteristics of the 
agriculturist, or the constructive genius of the mechanic, should 
never attempt to make a lawyer or a minister of himself. Par¬ 
ents whilst they should never select this or that particular 
business for their sons, may encourage and advise them in this 
all-important matter. 

















LIFE. 


420 

Having selected the profession or trade for which you are 
by nature adapted, the time-honored question arises: u What 
is now to be done in order to be successful ?” Engage in one 
kind of business only. Above all things see that your busi¬ 
ness is honorable. Pursue—yes, drive that business. Do not 
let it drive you. Be in earnest. Work diligently and faith¬ 
fully. Master all the details of your business by giving it 
your undivided attention. Be constantly suggesting and 
making improvements. Be not afraid to work ; for genuine 
pleasure blossoms only on the tree of labor. Luck, also, lies 
in labor. Trust not to luck. Remember that pluck is a hero 
and luck is a fool. 

Do not only watch for opportunities, but cause them to 
occur. Discern carefully and improve wisely the small oppor¬ 
tunities. Observe that great opportunities are generally the 
result of the wise improvement of small ones. Opportunities 
are the offers of God and the gifts of heaven—neglect them 
not, but embrace and profit by them. Confront difficulties 
with an unceasing perseverance. Who does not befriend the 
persevering, energetic, and industrious young man ? Who is 
not a true and faithful friend to a young man persevering in a 
course of'wisdom, rectitude, and benevolence? Who are the 
sons of perseverance, of unremitting industry and toil, but 
our successful men. 

Meet boldly, and vanquish affectionately all opposition that 
may arise. Opposition increases power of resistance. Cowards 
grumble concerning opposing circumstances, but heroes glory 
in overcoming opposition and in surmounting obstacles. Have 
energy—invincible determination. Have industry—the com¬ 
panion of honesty and honor—that noblest of virtues which 
links with perfection itself. In your chosen sphere of life 
show yourself energetic, industrious, brave, courageous, vigi¬ 
lant, and self-reliant. Show to the world that you are a man 
in every sense of the word. Be economical with your re¬ 
sources. Confound not economy with stinginess. Live within 
your means. Regard economy as the essence of honesty ; and 
prodigality as the essence of dishonesty. Keep out of bad 
company, and seek that of intelligent and well-bred persons. 
Remember where there is a will, there is a way. Nothing is 
really impossible to him who wills. Power of will and fixed- 


LIFE. 


421 

ness of purpose, are grand elements of human success. Yield 
not to misfortune. Shun laziness as you would idleness. Pov¬ 
erty and disgrace never fails to overtake both the idler and 
the lazy man. Improve your spare moments. Read good 
books—especially the Bible. Read the papers—they are the 
great educators of the people. Control your temper and give 
not way to angry passion. Be civil and courteous, kind and 
friendly. You possess nothing of which, you should be vain, 
but much to induce humility. It is folly to be vain, and wis¬ 
dom to be humble. It is well to observe that proud men have 
friends neither in prosperity, because they know nobody ; nor 
in adversity, because nobod}^ knows them. Be not a slave to 
ambition, nor of avarice. The roads ambition and avarice 
travel are too narrow for friendship, too crooked for love, too 
rugged for honesty, too dark for science, and to hilly for hap¬ 
piness. Be just what you appear to be. Remember that the 
hypocrite is hated by the world for seeming to be a Christian, 
while God hates him for not being one. The ungrateful are 
everywhere hated. Be, therefore, grateful, and charitable. 
Cultivate nobleness of soul. Speak the truth. Shun debt. 
Be not credulous ; for the victims of swindlers and other rogues 
are usually credulous persons. Make money, and do good 
with it. Be generous and temperate, and hopeful. Hope 
cheers and rouses the soul—gives strength and courage—and 
is always buoyant. Fall not into bad habits. Love truth and 
virtue for their own sake, and for your own good. Keep your 
own counsel. Do not take too much advice. 

Remember, “ There is a God,” and obey his laws. Love 
your neighbor, your country, and your God. In a word, lead 
such a life that your dying day may be to you a day of joy un¬ 
speakable, a day of happiness inexpressible, and a day of 
glory ineffable. 


HOW TO MAKE LIFE HAPPY. 



REV. J. S. SHADE, SUMMUM, ILL. 


HE DESIRE of a happy life is universal. And yet 
few, comparatively speaking, adopt the right 
method to make life happy. By life we mean the 
present state of existence, the period between 
birth and the grave. Life, however, is not mere 
existence or length of days, but real and legiti¬ 
mate enjoyment. 

How is life made happy? Not necessarily by the accumu¬ 
lation of great wealth. u For a man's life consisteth not in 
the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” A man, 
though poor, may have greater comforts and more happiness 
in thirty years, than a rich man destitute of the grace of God, 
has in three score years and ten. 

Neither is it self-gratification, nor yielding to the bidding 
of the human will, that makes life happy. The soul is spiritual 
so that carnal things do not suit its nature. That which is 
adapted to the needs of the soul and satisfies its longings, is 
infinitely more precious, satisfying, permanent and abiding 
than earthly treasure. 

Life is a race, a journey, and in order to be a happy, pleasant 
and enjoyable journey, it must have a right beginning. A trip 
across the continent to some distant city, must be right in its 
commencement and direction, otherwise it will be darkened 
with clouds of doubt and uncertainty. Lif e can only be happy 
when its beginning, its middle and its end is in Christ. 

Our present life does not terminate our existence. Death 
does not end all, for when it occurs we enter upon another 
state of being that will have no end. Hence, in order that our 
life in this world may be happy, we need the assurance that it 
will end well, and that we will be greeted with the words, 
“ Come ye blessed of my Father.” We all desire to have the 
end better than the beginning, especially the end of our life as 
to this world. Without a scriptural hope of entering upon life 









LIFE. 423 

eternal at the end of our earthly career, we are sure to have a 
life that is for the most part devoid of happiness. 

Solomon says, u The fear of the Lord is the beginning of 
knowledge.” He'.that fears, reverences and worships God, will 
not fail in his endeavors to make his life happy. God was 
with Joseph in prison, with Daniel in the lion’s den, with the 
three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, and with the 
disciples of Christ in their suffering and persecution, because 
they feared, reverenced and worshipped him. Though a Chris¬ 
tian life has many trials, troubles and hardships, it is not with¬ 
out a continuous flow of an undercurrent, carrying with it a 
sense of abiding happiness. 

To make life happy is to be truly honest. And to be truly 
honest, is to be good. And to be truly good, is to be a good 
Christian. Christ says, “Without me ye can do nothing.” 
To be a Christian, is to be a member of Christ by faith and to 
have him formed within us, the hope of glory, which being 
done, we can by the grace of God live a happy life. St. Paul 
made his life happy by making Christ his all and in all. He 
says, u I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me, and the life 
which I live, I live by the faith of the Son of God.” 

Patience is also necessary to make life happy. Would you 
have a happy life, then possess your soul in patience. Be 
patient in tribulation. Be patient when tried by the little 
annoying and irritating things incident to this earthly life. 

That life may be truly happy, it must be in the church, for 
otherwise it is not in Christ, who is the head of the Church. 
Outside of the church is an idle state, and that is sinful. 
Though there may be pleasure in it, yet it is only for a season. 
Consequently such a life cannot be happy. 

In a truly happy life, Christ is confessed before men, and 
publicly owned as our Lord and Savior. The power of sin is 
overcome and Christ lives within. The gospel is obeyed. The 
sacraments are held as the divinely instituted means of grace, 
and Christ is faithfully served in the use of the means of 
grace. In a happy life prayer is not neglected, the cross is 
taken up and borne daily. Make your life happy with a 
pleasure that never wears out,Avhich is^the pleasure of doing 
good. Blessed is the man who can lay his head upon his pil¬ 
low at night with an approving conscience, and with the assur- 


424 


LIFE. 


ance that he did some good during the day. To be happy you 
must guard against an impudent use of the tongue which is 
called an unruly member by the Apostle James. How often 
persons make themselves miserable by indulging in an 
uncharitable, criminating, fault-finding and false, accusing 
spirit, and then put the blame of their discomfort on some one 
else, when really they are the sole cause of it themselves. It 
is common for persons to make a loud profession of religion, 
and yet not have learned at all times to make a prudent and 
Christian use of the tongue, and by so doing make life bitter 
for themselves and others. 

Finally, if you would make life happy, always look on the 
bright side of things and be hopeful, trusting in the presence 
of Christ, that he will be with you always, even unto the end. 


A CALL TO LIFE’S WORK. 


W OULDST thou from sorrow find a sw^eet relief? 

Or is thy heart oppressed with woes untold ? 

Balm wouldst thou gather for corroding grief ? 
Pour blessings round thee like a shower of gold.— 
Tis when the rose is wrapt in many a fold 
Close to its heart, the worm is wasting there 
Its life and beauty; not when, all unrolled, 

Leaf after leaf, its blossoms, rich and fair, 

Breathes freely its perfumes throughout the ambient air. 

Wake, thou that sleepest in enchanted bowers, 

Lest these lost years should haunt thee on the night 
When death is waiting for thy numbered hours 
To take their swift and everlasting flight; 

Wake, ere the earth-born charm unnerve thee quite, 

And be thy thoughts to work divine addressed; 

Do something—do it soon—with all thy might; 

An angel’s wing would droop if long at rest, 

And God himself, inactive, were no longer blest. 

Some high or humble enterprise of good 
Contemplate, till it shall possess thy mind, 

Become thy study, pastime, rest, and food, 

And kindle in thy heart a flame refined. 





LIFE. 


425 


Pray Heaven for firmness thy whole soul to bind 
To this thy purpose—to begin, pursue, 

With thoughts all fixed, and feelings purely kind; 

Strength to contemplate, and with delight review, 

And grace to give the praise where all is ever due. 

No good of worth sublime will Heaven permit 
To light on man as from the passing air; 

The lamp of genius, though by nature lit, 

If not protected, pruned, and fed with care, 

Soon dies, or runs to waste with fitful glare; 

And learning is a plant that spreads and towers 
Slow as Columbia’s aloe, proudly rare, 

That, ’mid gay thousands, with the suns and showers 
Of half a century, grows alone before it flowers. 

Has immortality of name been given 
To them that idly worship hills and groves, 

And burn sweet incense to the queen of heaven ? 

Did Newton learn from fancy, as it roves, 

To measure worlds, and follow where each moves? 

Did Howard gain renown that shall not cease, 

By wanderings wild that nature’s pilgrim loves? 

Or did Paul gain heaven’s glory and its peace, 

By musing o’er the bright and tranquil isles of Greece ? 

Beware lest thou, from sloth, that would appear 
But lowliness of mind, with joy proclaim 
Thy want of worth; a charge thou couldst not hear 
From other lips, without a blush of shame, 

Or pride indignant; then be thine the blame, 

And make thyself of worth ; and thus enlist 
The smiles of all the good, the dear of fame; 

’Tis infamy to die and not be missed, 

Or let all soon forget that thou didst e’er exist. 

Rouse to some work of high and holy love, 

And thou an angel’s happiness shalt know,— 

Shalt bless the earth while in the world above; 

The good begun by thee shall onward flow 
In many a branching stream, and wider grow ; 

The seed that, in these few and fleeting hours, 

Thy hands unsparing and unwearied sow. 

Shall deck thy grave with amaranthine flowers, 

And yield the fruits divine in heaven’s immortal bowers. 

—Carlos Wilcox. 


28 


THE DIGNITY OF LABOR. 


KEY. J. L. BRETZ. A. B., BLUFFTON, END. 


“ A sacred burden is the life you bear, 

Look on it, lift it, bear it solemnly, 

Stand up and walk beneath it steadfastly, 

Fail not for sorrow, falter not for sin, 

But onward, upward, till the goal you win.” 

AM WELL convinced that this life is not the land 
of enjoyment, hut of labor and toil, and that every 
joy is granted to us, hut to strengthen us for future 
action.”— Fichte . 

Toil in man’s innocence was pleasure. It called 
into play his physical and intellectu al powers to 
develop them to maturity and perfection. Now, man begins to 
act on a lower plane to rise by successive steps toward the same 
state. There is only one royal road to grandeur of being, and 
of true dignity, by which alone we may reach the true end of 
life, which is by earnest and unremitting, energetic labor. The 
best method of moral training, and soul-culture, are the vari¬ 
ous vocations which require physical or mental labor, or the 
two combined, so as to make man a unit of energy. Neither 
the mind nor the body works without the aid of the other. 
They are dependent upon.each other, and, together, they con¬ 
stitute a man’s power for conquest of position and pre¬ 
eminence. 

Physical labor depends upon the mind to plan, invent, 
direct and perfect the engagement in advance of the real fin¬ 
ished work. To work well is to think right. The mind 
governs the body. Since the body is the prime motor every¬ 
thing depends upon it for progress. Physical labor is, there¬ 
fore, necessary and all-important to produce a sound, healthy 
physique; to develop bone and muscle, broad shoulders and 
deep chest, over which should tower a well-balanced brain. 
Manual labor brings health to the body by producing pure 
blood, and normally developing the parts and organs. Only a 
healthy body is the temple of a sound mind, and the casket 







LIFE. 


427 

of a vigorous soul. When the body is rejuvenate with health 
and vigor, only then is the mind capable of producing its 
purest thought. Some men look with disgust on their trades 
as mean and low, but a man becomes interested in labor just 
in proportion as the mind works with the hands. Intelligence 
gives dignity to work, and educated laborers will give dignity 
to their toils. An enlightened farmer, who looks intelligently 
on his work is a much more cheerful, as well as a more digni¬ 
fied laborer, than he whose whole life is the same dull, un¬ 
thinking, unimproving toil. It is the man who determines the 
dignity of the occupation, not the occupation which measures 
the dignity of the man. A man is just what he makes of him¬ 
self by force of application and by resistance of difficulties. 
No greatness or goodness is worth much unless tried in these 
tires. 

In mental labor the mind depends upon the body for its 
support. While the mind works the body must feel and stimu¬ 
late the organs of sense and the faculties of the brain to quick 
and lively perception. There must be physical energy before 
there can be mental results. There must be bone and muscle 
produced as a base for the magnetic nerves and the electric 
brain. They are of the highest importance, and can only be 
produced by vigorous toil and a proper development of the 
body to its normal state. Therefore the physical and the 
mental endowments matured constitute the man, and his toil 
and activity make him an energetic unit. 

The benefits derived from labor are many and various, and 
may be properly classed under the four divisions of physical, 
intellectual, social and moral. Under these are realized and 
enjoyed all the embellishments of civilized life. A man well 
balanced in these has vouchsafed to him all that can be en¬ 
joyed in life, and is on the road to eminence, dignity, and 
true happiness, and will be the recipient of the divine 
benediction. 

Physically, man is so benefitted that he becomes an inde¬ 
pendent unit in his life’s struggle for existence. He works 
himself into line with the survival of the fittest. While to 
him accrue the paramount, pleasures of health, comfort and 
contentment, which are requisite for intellectual social and 
moral improvement. Activity brings every muscle and nerve 


LIFE. 


428 

into right and healthful play. Out of a healthy active state 
arise cheerful, happ}^ motives that elevate the mind and soul 
to human greatness. 

Healthful labor advances man to intellectual, social, and 
moral pursuits and gratifications. He acquires a liberal edu¬ 
cation, the completion of which is hard work and study. He 
is thereby enabled to provide himself books, and inform him¬ 
self on topics and subjects which he meets with in every-day 
life. A library of select books is as necessary to the farmer 
and mechanic as to men of the highest profession. They are 
necessary to usefulness, since reading is become the royal road 
to intellectual eminence. They gratify the mind, fill it with 
valuable treasures, and prevent the desire of mere worldly 
pleasure. Our chief vocation is to think, this being the zest 
principle of intellectual life. The mind of a healthy person 
opens to divine light and intelligence, as the exquisite rose 
opens its fragrant heart to the quivering sunbeams and jiearly 
raindrops of a June morning. To the earnest laborer is guar¬ 
anteed the benefit of a pure, sweet mind that knows, reasons, 
and thinks, and from such a mind we may expect to flow the 
love and praise of God, the honor and esteem of men. 

Labor is a great social blessing. It promotes every quality 
of sociability. It smothes down the asperities of man’s nature, 
and makes him truly noble and affectionate. Its true glory is 
to govern one’s self—not others.. To serve through love, and 
not to rule, is true Christian greatness. Hard toil makes a 
man benevolent and grateful. A miser is neither sociable nor 
liberal. The indolent man is never liberal, and because he is 
not benevolent he does not aid the interests of society. In rest 
from weariness there is healthful vigor and a lively kindness 
of disposition. In recreation from earnest labor there is affa¬ 
bility, and a pleasure to sociability. Its maxim is to live and 
let live—to advance the best interests for the general welfare 
of all people. 

The moral good derived from labor is incalculable. Toil 
to the innocent is sweet. It occupies the mind with pure 
thoughts. It subdues the natural passions and desires, and 
turns a man’s zeal to honest purposes. It deadens vice, and 
enhances virtue; encourages to noble enterprise, and raises 
man above the vulgar and common pleasures of a degraded 


LIFE. 


429 


life. In reality, labor is a practical school of morals, justice, 
benevolence, charity, and faith. It is the best school of moral 
gratifications through the culture of a good conscience toward 
God and toward man, and the exercise of benevolence toward 
others for their temporal relief and spiritual improvement. 
The time consumed in thoughtless dissipation, if employed in 
the school of moral culture, would be sufficient to effect great 
changes in our habits and tastes. It would revolutionize 
society, and do away with indigence and a vagrant life, and 
hasten the ushering in of the millenium of pure Christianity. 

The rusty sword and rifle are not fit for war, neither is the 
idle hand or brain useful to the man who only makes a zero 
in the ranks of human worth. The indolent are parasites 
upon the honest laboring class of society, and sap the life 
from worthy enterprises. But honest toil and labor are great 
blessings to the individual, to the state, and to the world at 
large. Their uses reach beyond the present world. The exer¬ 
cise of steady, earnest labor is one of our great preparations 
for another state of being. Through the growth, energy, and 
development of the higher principles and powers of the soul, 
man is elevated to the highest degree of dignity and content¬ 
ment. They make up the path that lead to the great proba¬ 
tion of life for a better world. The honest laborer goes down 
to his rest in peace, and like the sun setting behind the moun¬ 
tains, looks back upon the day of aspiring growth and smiles 
a blessing on the past. 

“ Let us, then, be up and doing 
With a heart for any fate; 

Still achieving, still pursuing, 

Learn to labor and to wait.” 



i 


J 


430 


LIFE. 


THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH. 


U NDER A spreading chestnut tree 
The village smithy stands ; 

The smith a mighty man is he, 

With large and sinewy hands. 

And the muscles of his brawny arms 
Are strong as iron bands. 

His hair is crisp, and black and long; 

His face is like the tan ; 

His brow is wet with honest sweat, 

He earns whate’er he can, 

And looks the whole world in the face, 

For he owes not any man. 

Week in, week out, from morn ’till night, 
You can hear his bellows blow ; 

You can hear him swing his heavy sledge, 
With measured beat and slow, 

Like a sexton ringing the village bell, 
When evening sun is low. 

And children coming home from school 
Look in at the open door— 

They love to see the flaming forge, 

And hear the bellows roar, 

And catch the sparks that fly 
Like chaff from a threshing floor. 

He goes on Sunday to the church, 

And sits amongst his boys; 

He hears the parson pray and preach; 

He hears his daughter’s voice 
Singing in the village choir 
And it makes his heart rejoice; 

It sounds to him like her mother’s voice 
Singing in paradise, 

He needs must think of her once more, 
How in the grave she lies, 

And with his hard rough hand he wipes 
A tear from out his eyes. 

Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing, 

Onward through life he goes; 

Each morning sees some task begin, 
Something attempted, something done, 
Has earned a night’s repose. 





















































































































































































LIFE. 


431 


Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend 
For the lesson thou hast taught; 

Thus, at the flaming forge of life, 

Our fortunes must be wrought; 

Thus on its sounding anvil shaped 
Each burning deed, each thought. 

— Longfellow. 


FARM LIFE. 


REV. E. R. WILLIARD. A. M., GERMANTOWN, 0. 


“ Success to the jolly good farmer, 

Who sings at the end of his plow, 

The monarch of prairies and forest, 

'Tis only to God he may bow ; 

He is surely a fortunate fellow, 

He raises his bread and his cheese, 

And, tho’ hard is his labor in summer, 

In winter he lives at his ease.” 

GRICULTURE IS the oldest of all occupations, 
and was established by God’s direct command. 
He, who made the world in all its beauty and 
fruitfulness, wanted it properly cared for, and 
therefore gave man dominion over the beasts of 
the field, and commanded him to till the soil. 
“Before literature existed, before governments were known, 
agriculture was the calling of man.” Farmers, therefore, 
rightly “ claim this precedence over royal dynasties and titles 
of nobility—that they represent the oldest and most indisputa¬ 
ble linage, and hold a patent, that issues from the ancient gates 
of Eden.” 

It is said by competent authorities that there are seven 
million farmers in the United States, and still others assert 
that thirty-five millions of our population, of all ages, races, 
and sexes are to be accredited to farm-life. According to the 
Census of 1880, there were four million eight thousand nine 
hundred and seven farms in the United States, the total value 











LIFE. 


432 

of which was considerably more than ten billions of dollars. 
The farmers are. therefore, not only the most numerous class 
among all our people, but it will be seen at once that the 
political, moral and religious destinies of the nation are largely 
in their hands. For many reasons, it is well that it is so. 
Farmers, as a class, are among the most quiet, good and law- 
abiding of our citizens; they are not easily changed in feeling 
and conviction ; the great vices of society are not so prevalent 
among them as in most other classes of our population; they 
are so situated in life, as to be encouraged thereby to think 
and act for themselves with manly independence, and are 
almost universally imbued with a noble patriotism. 

Farming is an honorable occupation, because of its divine 
origin. Whatever God commands must be honorable. To till 
the soil, or do any other work in obedience to the decree of 
God, is to be a laborer under the great Master of all things, 
and to devote our days and energies to the fulfillment of divine 
purposes. Some men would have honored God far more by 
the good and successful life they might have spent upon the 
farm, than by the poor life they have actually lived elsewhere. 
And yet, perhaps one of the chief reasons why so many young 
men forsake the farm for other pursuits in life is because they 
have the vain idea that some profession or some business 
would be more honorable. Let them read the first few chap¬ 
ters in the Bible, and see what was the very first and God 
commanded occupation of mankind way back in the beauty 
of Eden u dressing it and keeping it,” as well as earning their 
bread in the sweat of the face and tilling the soil, when thorns 
and tares sprung up as the awful harvest of the curse. 

Again, in this country especially, agriculture is the basis of 
the nation’s wealth and prosperity. See how they change with 
rich or poor harvests! See how not only the tiller of the soil, 
but also the business man, the professional man, the laboring 
man, the capitalist, all anxiously ask, u How’s the wheat,” as 
the snow and ice of winter clear away, and the first spring 
shower and warming sun tell of the financial future! Who 
could ask to be more closely and honorably identified with the 
nation’s wealth and prosperity, with the interest of business 
life, and with the joy and bounty in the homes of the mechanic 
and artisan? 


LIFE. 


433 


Many of the most honored names on the long roll of Ameri¬ 
can fame are closely linked with farm life and work. George 
Washington, the most noble name in the world’s patriotism 
and manliness, was the actual owner of a farm of 8,000 acres 
of land, half of wdrich was tilled under his own direct super¬ 
vision. One of the last arduous acts of his life was to write a 
long letter only the week before he died, directing his super¬ 
intendent at Mount Vernon in even the details of his large 
farm. Thomas Jefferson invented the side-hill plow. Daniel 
Webster owned two farms, and when the end of life was 
sensibly drawing nigh, he gladly went to his Marshfield farm, 
spending his last days amid the lowing of his favorite cattle, 
viewing the broad fields and died in the peaceful quiet of that 
country home. 

Farm life has many advantages. No other pursuit in life 
brings men into more close and constant intimacy with nature. 
From nature man learns most useful lessons, and the whole 
life of the farmer leads to reverence, love, purity, honesty and 
manliness. 

Farming is also a healthful occupation. To plow the soil, 
break the sod, tread in the soft, mellow soil of mother earth, 
breathe the pure air and eat the fresh, invigorating products 
of the farm, to toil in the sunny days and enjoy the quiet rest 
of the nights on the farm, are the true elements of real health, 
which is worth more for the joy of life than riches or earthly 
station. The farmer has the added advantage of being enabled, 
by his very situation, to rear his children largely free from the 
contamination of city vices. 

In the course of a public address at the dedication of a great 
college years ago, Horace Mann, that distinguished New Eng¬ 
land educator, asserted that, if all the vast outlay of money, 
time, labor and talents expended in building and equipping 
that college would result in saving only one boy from a bad 
life, it would amply justify that lavish expense, ^.friend, 
who had been rather surprised at this bold assertion, soon took 
opportunity to ask Mr. Mann if that had not been an extrava- 
gent statement. u No,” answered the noble man, who had 
such ample ideas of the true worth and value of even one 
mind and heart and life, “ no, not if it was my boy, that was 
saved.” 


434 


LIFE. 


So many a father has plodded through many long years of 
the hard toil of the farm, and many a mother has heroically 
gone through the weary drudgery and constant work, which 
the farmer’s wife must do, realizing that, at such a cost, they 
bought the priceless privilege of rearing their sons and daugh¬ 
ters so far removed from the great moral temptations and 
snares, from which farm life is happily so comparatively free. 

Who tills the ground with his own right hand, 

And makes his bread with the might of brawn, 

Shall awake from slumber’s sweet repose 
Refreshed and blest on the morrow’s dawn; 

Who rings the ax and whirrs the saw, 

As rightly becometh he who can, 

Proclaims to the world in his homely way, 

There is honor due to the workingman. 

The manliest men on earth to-day 
Are they who work and still rejoice; 

Who well life’s brunt and burden bear 
And hymn its praise with grateful voice; 

Each treads the earth as a noble man, 

God’s likeness in his honest face, 

And shall in the whited light of time 
In the rank of heroes take his place. 









LIFE. 


435 


THE FARMER’S LAD. 


I ’M certain that I do not know 
A better little lad than Joe, 

More kind and open-hearted; 

It seems as if the sunny skies 
Had to his youthful heart and eyes— 

Their warmth and light imparted. 

He is beloved by every one, 

And gladly will their errands run— 

Whene’er he has the leisure; 

Honest in all his words and ways, 

Right, joyfully he spends his days, 

And toil to him is pleasure. 

A few short years will pass, and he 
Will guide the plow along the lea. 

And help the Spring-times’ sowing; 

With sickle firm set in his hand, 

Will lead the sun-burnt reapers’ band 
When Autumn winds are blowing. 

A few short years—he’ll join the strife, 

And struggle, of his manhood’s life 
With heart, that knows not quailing; 
Trusting in heaven, all undismayed, 

He’ll battle on when earthly aid, 

And hope, seem unavailing. 

Unto such lads as little Joe— 

A debt of gratitude we owe, 

Because his brave example 
Shows that the honest, willing mind 
In work and toil will ever find— 

A joy, and blessing, ample. 

’Tis such as little Joe that swell the ranks 
Of those, who have the wide world’s thanks— 
The hardy sons of labor; 

The heroes of the bloodless fight, 

With poverty—the men of might 
Who bear not gun nor sabre. 



436 


LIFE. 


Toil on, my lad, with smiling face; 

Brave, honest toil ne’er brought disgrace; 

The future lies before thee. 

Go meet it with a purpose high, 

And, though temptation round thee lie, 

God ever w T atches o’er thee. 

—Sunday Magazine. 


PAYING THE FARE. 



HAT WAS an expensive voyage which Jonah made 
when he u fled from the presence of the Lord” and 
ran away to Tarshish. He found a ship just ready 
to sail, and he u paid the fare thereof.” But he 
paid dearly. How much money he paid we do not 
know; but it was a dead loss, for he never got to 
Tarshish. He paid away his credit as a servant of 
He made a hard draft on his conscience, and that 


Nothing hurts us like 


the Lord. 

is always a dear bargain for any man. 
the hurts we give to our conscience. 

After Jonah’s sinful voyage began, the second part, and the 
hardest part, of the bill came in. For the Almighty sent after 
him the policeman of a mighty gale, which caught hold of the 
vessel and well-nigh shivered it into wreck. Poor Jonah had 
not paid his fare to the bottom of the sea; but there is no help 
for him. The frightened crew pitched him out into the deep, 
and but for God’s interposing mercy he might have been 
devoured by the sharks instead of being preserved by that 
“ great fish” which was sent to transport him safely to the dry 
land. A dear voyage that! The prophet who ran away from 
God lost his money, lost his time, lost his credit, lost the 
approval of his conscience and of his God, and would have lost 
his life but for a miraculous interposition. All this was the 
“ fare ” which one man paid for sinning. 

But many of our readers may be committing the same ter¬ 
rible mistake. For no path seems to most j)eople so easy and 










LIFE. 


437 

pleasant to travel, as the path of sinful inclination. It is what 
the Bible calls u walking in the way of a man’s heart, and in 
the sight of his own eyes.” One man, for example, is entirely 
absorbed in making money. When this becomes a greedy 
appetite, the money-lover must pay for it with daily anxiety 
and worry, and he runs the fearful risk of being eaten up with 
covetousness. A greed for wealth grows with years. When 
the rich miser of New York tottered out into the street at 
fourscore, and a friend asked him how he felt, the feeble old 
miser replied eagerly, u I feel better to-day, stocks are up.” 
Ah! What a fare that old millionaire had to pay for travelling 
farther and faster than others on the road to wealth! It 
shrivelled up his very soul. Gold may be a useful servant, 
but it is a cruel master. It is not easy to own it without its 
owning us. Where one man makes it a rich blessing to others, 
thousands make it the ruin of their souls. Love of money 
drew Lot to the fertile valley of Sodom, and he u paid the fare 
thereof” in the destruction of his family. Love of money 
made Gehazi a knave; he “ paid the fare ” in an incurable 
leprosy. Love of money was one of two sins for which Judas 
paid with the suicide’s rope, and everlasting infamy. No man 
can make money safely and wisely, unless he holds his earn¬ 
ings as a trust from God. What would it profit you to win the 
wealth of an empire, if you should pay for it the price of your 
undying soul? u What shall a man give in exchange for his 
soul?” 

Into no road do young persons press more eagerly than the 
road to sensual indulgence. No turnpike is more travelled, 
and none exacts a more terrible u toll.” He who travels it 
must “ pay the fare ” thereof. The licentious man pays it in 
shame and self-loathing, in remorse and u rottenness of the 
bones.” No young maiden can take these hot coals into her 
bosom without being fearfully burned. The beautiful but ill- 
fated girl from New Jersey, whose tragical end once awakened 
such a universal thrill of horror, may have taken only one 
false step at first. But how far that led! It requires but one 
step to go down Niagara. She paid dearly for yielding to 
temptation, for the end of which was death. Hundreds of 
young men are pressing in every night to houses of wanton 
pleasure, bent only on enjoyment. But over the door of every 


438 


LIFE. 


house of infamy the finger of inspiration has written, “ This 
house is the way to hell going down to the chambers of death.” 

All along the seductive pathways of self-indulgence God 
places his toll-gates of retribution. I sometimes pass in the 
streets a wretched man who often needs the help of a police¬ 
man to convey him to his desolated home. He was once rich 
and respected. Poor victim of the bottle, he is “ paying the 
toll ” on the devil’s turnpike. The heartless dramsellers, who 
furnish him the poison for guilty gain, will have to pay theirs 
when they reach the judgment-bar of God! 

We cannot stop to recount all the penalties which men and 
women have to pay for sinning. The costliest thing in the 
world is sin. It costs purity of conscience, and costs the favor 
of God. It will cost at the last the loss of heaven. The sin 
of grieving the Holy Ghost has cost many a one everlasting 
perdition. 

u Show me the better way,—show me the safe way,” exclaim 
some of my readers who are alarmed at their own course of 
sin, and who really desire to live a better life. “ Show me the 
way, and tell me what is the fare thereof.” Friend, salvation 
is free on God’s side; but on your side it must be won by 
repentance and faith. As far as Christ’s precious atonement 
is concerned, 

“Nothing, either great or small, 

Remains for you to do; 

Jesus died and paid it all— 

All the debt you owe!” 

But the road to heaven, which the crucified Jesus has opened 
to you, can only be entered by your abandoning of your sins, 
and following him in faith and self-denial. “ Except a man be 
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” “ Except a 
man take up his cross and follow Christ, he cannot be his dis¬ 
ciple.” Friend, this “ fare ” you must “ pay ” to enter heaven. 
Are you wililng ?— T. L. Cuyler. 


THE PRICE WE PAY. 


REV. E. R. WILLIARD, A. M. GERMANTOWN, 0. 


a man goes to a store to buy various articles, 
Id have a pocket-book in his pocket as well he 
basket on his arm. Not only must he have a 
:et-book, but he must have some money in it. 
a truism with which all are familiar, that the 
:et is filled only as the pocket-book is emptied. 

He who goes without a pocket-book, or, what is 
just as bad, always has one with no money in it, must com¬ 
promise his honor wherever he buys, and must pawn his repu¬ 
tation over every counter from which he receives goods. 

There is a price on everything, and in order to come in pos¬ 
session of an object, we must pay that price ourselves, or have 
some kind friend do so in our stead. 

This world is a grand store house, God’s angels of destiny 
are the salesmen, and we are the buyers. Some buy shoddy, 
some calico, some buy instruments of evil and death, and 
some buy jewels ; all buy something, and we all pay a price. 
Some of us are so poor when we make our purchase, and our 
articles are so valuable and expensive, that, like a poor man 
who buys a three hundred acre farm, it requires our life ener¬ 
gies and our death sweat to pay the price, and we leave as a 
legacy to others what we bought ourselves and should have 
enjoyed ourselves. The great Owner of the store of our uni¬ 
verse does not give any thing to any body, but we must pay 
full value for every article we carry away, or pay two prices 
for one thing and nothing for another, like a boy who receives 
a stick of candy free on one day, and then makes up for it in 
the bill of the following day. 

If a man wants to buy an article he must, first of all, be sure 
he has the right kind of money. Not everything which is 
marked as five cents will pass current for that amount. A 
man may whittle a piece of board until he has it to be just 
the shape of a silver half dollar, he may paint and ornament 
it so that in appearance it would have the most perfect ap¬ 
pearance of silver; he may letter it so that the keenest eye 







440 


LIFE. 


could not distinguish the slightest difference between the two 
pieces, but if the required weight is wanting, if there is not the 
clear ring to the counterfeit half dollar, it would not buy a 
mere pinch of snuff. Our money must be genuine to pass 
current in the marts of trade. 

The trouble with so many people at the present day is that 
they are trying to buy fame, influence and character with 
counterfeit brains and sham virtue. They think that if they 
whittle a piece of fool’s brains just the size of the coin of genius, 
and stamp it like that, it will pass current among their fellows, 
and pay the price of the trophies of genius. Others think 
they can whittle a coin from false principle or sham virtue 
and then buy character with the counterfeit. But the sales¬ 
men God employs all know counterfeits, and cannot be de-, 
ceived. Every coin must have the right ring on their counter, 
before the desired article is passed over. 

Great battles cannot be fought unless the angel of death has 
a merry feast on the battle-field, and the banner of victory is 
crimsoned in the red blood of brave warriors. Great reputa¬ 
tions are like great temples; they are built brick by brick, 
and the last and the highest bricks are laid amid the greatest 
danger, and if one brick should fall, it would mar and break 
half a dozen others before reaching the ground. There is not 
as much danger in walling up a cellar as there is in putting 
on the cornice. 

The physician’s practice, the lawyer’s clients, the minister’s 
church members, the merchant’s trade—all are bought with a 
price. Hours of close confinement and hard study by the 
school-boy buy good recitations and the proper development 
of the brain. Years of self-denial, of strict, yet reasonable, 
economy, of true and faithful love, buy a happy home, where 
peace, joy, truth and all the graces and virtues gather around 
the fireside. 

If we want to buy a valuable article we must pay a corres¬ 
ponding price. Ten dollars will buy a wagon load of flimsy 
articles and frail toys, but it will not pay for an acre of good 
land. Great victories are often esteemed by the number of 
thousands slain, and great triumphs are bought by great sac¬ 
rifices. At one time in the great city of Marseilles, a fearful 
plague was scattering death in almost every household. Noth- 


LIFE. 


441 


ing could stay its ravages. The physicians held a counsel, and 
it was admitted by all that a corpse must be dissected, so that 
they could tell how to cope with the plague and master it. 
But the hand that wielded the dissecting knife would thereby 
contract the disease and hand it to the operator. At last a 
noted physician arose and said: “ I devote myself for the 
safety of my country. I swear in the name of humanity and 
religion that to-morrow at daybreak I will dissect a corpse, 
and note down as I proceed whatever I observe.” He made 
his will, spent the night in religious preparation for death, and 
awaited the morning’s dawn. During the day a man had died 
of the plague in his house, and at the grey dawn of the next 
day, he took his instruments, carefully dissected the corpse, 
and wrote down his observations as he proceeded. He then 
carefully placed the papers of observation in vinegar, so that 
others might not be contaminated with the disease by their 
touch, and heroically went forth and died in twelve hours. He 
virtually bought the lives of his friends and countrymen. He 
paid a great price, but bought a noble heroism and a sacredly 
cherished immortality. 


A CONSISTENT LIFE. 



REV. W. WASNICH, WEST UNITY, 0. 


and fit 
beyond 
And 


IFE IS one of the most precious gifts of God to 
man. There is nothing that we, ordinarily, prize 
more highly; for all that a man hath, will he give 
for his life. It is, indeed, a precious privilege to 
live in a world like this, where there are so many 
things to administer to our comfort and enjoyment, 
where we may in a thousand ways express our 
gratitude to the Giver of all our mercies for his 
goodness to us; where we may do good to others 
and prepare .ourselves for the higher and better life 
the grave, to which this is preparatory, 
yet precious and valuable as life is, there are many 


29 











LIFE. 


442 

who make no proper account of it, and waste and squander it 
in ways that are inconsistent with the noble purposes for 
which it was given. There are some who shorten and destroy 
it by excessive labor and exposure, whilst others are doing the 
same thing by giving themselves up to sensual indulgence, 
and intemperate habits. It is, indeed, sad to see how many 
lives are prostituted to low and base purposes, and terminate 
in shame and disgrace. 

It becomes us all to consider well how we can most consist¬ 
ently employ our lives during the short time we spend on 
earth, so that we may have the sweet satisfaction of knowing, 
when we come to die, that we have made a good use of the 
trust that was given us. To do this it is, first of all, necessary 
that we be diligent in some honest and lawful calling so as to 
give proper scope to the powers with which God has endowed 
us. That man was designed for a life of activity and useful¬ 
ness is evident, from the peculiar construction of his body, 
the different members of which are all adapted for some special 
purpose. It is in this way that we are to provide for our wants 
and necessities, and improve the condition of things around 
us. It must certainly be a satisfaction to any one when old 
and infirm to feel that he has, by his own toil and economy, 
accumulated enough of this world’s goods to make himself 
and those who are depending on him comfortable, when he is 
no longer able to labor with his hands; whereas, the opposite 
must be the case when any one has lived long and enjoyed 
good health, and has nothing to support him in his declining 
years. Hence, if any one would live a consistent life, he must 
not be slothful nor indolent, but diligent in the proper use of 
all advantages, privileges, and opportunities he has, so that he 
may not want, or be dependent on others. 

There are, however, other wants besides those which pertain 
to the body. Man does not live by bread alone. He has 
wants and aspirations of soul which are as real and pressing 
as those which are physical. His nature, w r hen true to itself, 
seeks communion and fellowship with God, and gives utter¬ 
ance to its wants in prayers and acts of worship, so that men 
everywhere observe and practice some form of religion. And, 
as this is the case, no one can be said to live and act consist¬ 
ently if he does not believe in God, and love, fear, and worship 


LIFE. 443 

him, as his Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer in Christ Jesus, 
our Lord. 

This world is not our home, we are here only for a short 
time as pilgrims and strangers, when we are called to leave it 
and go the way of all flesh. And as we brought nothing with 
us when we came into the world, so we can carry nothing with 
us when we take our departure from it, leaving all the possess¬ 
ions we may have accumulated to those who come after us. 
This being the case, no one can live consistently, who allows 
his thoughts and affections to be engrossed entirely with the 
things of this world, and never thinks of what is to follow 
after death, for which some preparation ought to be made. 

Life being such a precious gift, ought again, if we would act 
consistently, be devoted to high and noble purposes. To live, 
as many do, by cheating and defrauding, robbing and pilfer¬ 
ing, in lewdness and debauchery, in drunkenness and excess, 
in stirring up strife and ill-feeling among neighbors and friends, 
in opposing religion and morality, is conduct unworthy of men 
endowed with the noble powers with which God has blessed 
us, as it is presumable that all know that these things are 
wrong, and that they are a shame and disgrace to those who 
are guilty of them ; whereas, the opposite course of conduct, 
where men shun what is base, and mean, where they act 
toward their fellow-men as they would have them do in 
return; where they are honest and upright in all their dealings; 
where they strive to promote peace and harmony ; where they 
love God and respect religion, and live pious, virtuous, and 
godly lives ; there is much in all this, to command our respect 
and admiration. 

The Bible places great stress upon a consistent and holy 
life, and gives many encouragements to it, as when Paul says 
in his letter to the Phillipians, “Do all things without mur- 
murings and disputings; that ye maybe blameless and harm¬ 
less, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a 
crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights 
in the world; holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice 
in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither 
labored in vain.” TheTe is something so grand and noble in 
a consistent life that we cannot help admiring and praising it, 
as may be seen in the Athenians who had such a high regard 


444 


LIFE. 


for the philosopher, Zeno, on account of his temperate and 
moral life, which he led, that they erected a monument of 
brass over his grave, with the inscription, u here lifes a man 
whose life accorded with his teaching.” 


AN UPRIGHT, CHRISTIAN LIFE. 


REV. T. H. WINTERS, XENIA, 0. 


N UPRIGHT man, a man of integrity, is one who 
has all the parts and elements of a Christian gen¬ 
tleman. The word in its ordinary signification 
means soundness, completeness, wholeness, entire¬ 
ty, comprehending all that belongs to true man¬ 
hood. As thus viewed, a man of integrity and 
uprightness embraces more than a meek, patient, 
humble, and forgiving spirit, as these are merely 
qualities that go to make up the true man, and may exist 
singly and in an eminent degree, whilst other qualities are 
sadly deficient. It is no uncommon thing to see men cultivate 
one side of their nature to the neglect of the others. With 
some the physical predominates, with others the intellectual, 
and with others again the moral, the result of which is, there 
is no soundness, completeness, nor fulness of character. In 
like manner one quality or grace of the true Christian may be 
cultivated and developed so as to exhibit great strength and 
beauty, whilst the others are left in the background. Moses 
was a man of great meekness, Abraham of faith, Solomon of 
wisdom, Paul of energy and heroism, whilst John excelled in 
love and meekness. As plants differ from each other, and 
stars shine with different degrees of lustre, and as no two 
persons are exactly alike in appearance and disposition, so 
we, in like manner, find a great diversity of Christian charac¬ 
ter, with only here and there one that has the completeness 
necessary to constitute uprightness and integrity, which, when 
attained, is the highest style or type of manhood. When 











LIFE. 


445 


rightly viewed it must be regarded as a matter of regret that 
so much of the Christianity of the day runs out into partic¬ 
ularities and specialties, to the neglect of what is general and 
complete. We see many who are humble, meek, patient, 
benevolent, charitable, forgiving, and devout; but only a few 
who combine and blend all that is lovely and attractive. 
Some are indeed so deficient in certain graces that what good 
they do possess is so blurred and defaced as to occasion serious 
doubts whether they can lay any just claim to the Christian 
name, from which we may infer that a great want in the piety 
of the day is more soundness, completeness, and integrity. 

That such Christian integrity and usefulness may be at¬ 
tained, in the face of all the difficulties and hindrances that 
lie in the way, is evident from the fact that some do reach it 
in a degree calculated to excite our admiration and delight. 
And although they are not perfect, having still such faults and 
defects as are common to man, they are bright examples of 
what Christianity may and often does do in conforming us to 
the pure and spotless character of Christ, and may be referred 
to as unanswerable proofs of the truth of the religion he has 
established in the world. 

Christians who possess such sympathy of character, and 
blend so harmoniously the excellencies of the religion they 
profess, exemplifying its duties in their every day life, are a 
great power for good in the communities in which they live, 
as the following incident abundantly testifies: 

A gentleman in England gives the following account of his 
conversion, and of the means that led to it. I was living, 
he says, close to a merchant who professed to carry on his 
extensive commercial business on strictly Christian principles, 
and said to myself, I am by no means certain that this is so. 
I will, therefore, watch him closely for one year, and if, at 
the end of that time, I find that he is really what he professes 
to be, I shall follow his example, and become a Christian also. 
I did so, and during the whole of that time I resolutely kept 
my eye on him, expecting all the while to find some flaw, or 
inconsistency in his mode of dealing. But no; he stood 
the test. The result was a thorough conviction on my part 
that,the was a true man, and that religion was a reality. 
When I told him the whole circumstance, and asked him how 


446 


LIFE. 


much I should give to the Lord as a thank-offering for his 
great mercy towards me, the good man was tilled with grati¬ 
tude, but at the same time trembled, as he thought what 
might have happened had he stumbled through any unwatch¬ 
fulness, when so observed, and for such an end. 

We have a striking and beautiful instance of the integrity 
we speak of in Samuel, who, on a certain occasion, called all 
Israel together to testify in regard to his honest and upright 
life as a judge among them, saying, “And now behold I am 
old and grayheaded ; and, behold my sons are with you ; and 
I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. 
Behold here I am : witness against me before the Lord and 
before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken ? Or whose ass 
have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded ? Whom have I 
oppressed? And I will restore it to you. And they said, 
Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast 
thou taken aught of any man’s hand.” 

What a blessing it must be to any people to have men of 
such integrity, occupying the highest places of trust and 
responsibility in the nation, against whom no charge of fraud 
or corruption can be brought ; and in reference to whom the 
people are compelled to testify, when they review their ser¬ 
vices, that they have uniformly done what was right before 
God, and to their fellow-men ; appropriating nothing to them¬ 
selves but what rightly belonged to them. 0 that the number 
of such men were greatly multiplied in our own time and in 
our own nation! 



AN HUMBLE LIFE. 


REV. P. J. SPANGLER, FARMER, OHIO. 


HERE ARE many things which adorn and beautify 
life, making it what God intended it. A meek and 
quiet spirit, a temperate and consistent life, a moral 
and upright course of conduct, a benevolent and 
charitable disposition, are all great embellish¬ 
ments, of great value. And yet, much as they are 
to be esteemed, none of them surpasses an humble, lowly 
frame of mind which is of great value in the sight of God, 
who resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. 

But much as there is in humility to commend it, it is like 
the other graces of which the Bible speaks, not as prevalent 
as it should be. Men are much more disposed to be proud and 
think more highly of themselves than they should, than to be 
humble. And yet, although hard to attain and excellent as it 
is, when possessed, it is still within the reach of all, and should 
be sought by all. 

Not everything that looks or sounds like humility is such in 
reality. Everything that is good has its counterfeit. There 
is a dead faith as well as a living faith, a love that is in words, 
but not in deed and truth, a hope that is vain as well as true, 
a joy that is spurious as well as real, so there is a false 
humility as well as that which is real. 

What then is the humility of which we speak? It is not a 
smooth, soft form of speech by which we disclaim everything 
like pride or arrogance. This may and often is done where 
pride still lurks in the heart. Nor is it mere self-abasement, 
or abhorrence of ourselves, as they may be the result of 
wickedness and bad conduct on our part. True humility as 
one of the fruits of the spirit, is a feeling that springs up in 
the heart in view of the many sins and transgressions we have 
committed against God, and of our entire destitution of all 
good, in consequence of which sorrow and penitence fill the soul 
with a sense of its entire unworthiness of the divine favor and 
goodness. It is, therefore, nothing that is assumed or put on 










LIFE. 


448 

for effect sake, but is a genuine feeling of the heart, causing 
those who possess it to humble themselves in the sight of God, 
and to make no account of anything they do or meriting 
his favor and approbation. The more goodness and excel¬ 
lence they may possess, the more humble they are, as they 
regard it all the result of the operation of divine grace in their 
hearts so that they are ready to say with Paul, “ It is by the 
grace of God we are what we are. 

Being one of the graces of the true Christian, it enters 
essentially into his character and pervades his entire life. It 
is not like a garment which he can put on and off at pleasure, 
one day being humble and the next day proud, but is an 
essential part of his being pervading all he says and does. If 
he is rich he does not despise the poor, if learned he does not 
turn aside from the ignorant, if honored he does not look down 
with contempt upon those who occupy the lower walks of life, 
but endeavors to imitiate in all things the Savior, who was 
meek and lowly in heart that he may find rest for his soul. 

Surely such a frame or habit of mind is of great value and 
importance. No character is complete without it—neither 
riches, learning, fine clothing, promotion, fame, nor anything 
the world calls great, can supply its place. Neither gold, nor 
silver, nor gems can purchase it. It can neither be bought 
nor sold. Like all that is good and Christ-like, it must be 
sought and acquired by each one for himself. No father can 
transmit it to his son, or mother to her daughter, like a jewel 
or piece of property. It is of more value than rubies, nor 
can any one be a Christian without it, for except we have the 
spirit of Christ we are none of his. 

Humility is also favorable to a life of communion with God, 
who abhors and hates the proud, but delights in those who are 
lowly and tremble at his word. As the valleys take up and 
absorb the rain that runs off the rock and down the mountain 
side and so produces a rich and abundant harvest, so the 
showers of divine grace falling upon the humble find a genial 
soil, refreshing and invigorating them, whilst the hearts of the 
proud are not affected thereby and remain barren and hard. 
Well did Jesus say of the Publican, who humbly prayed, God 
be merciful to me a sinner, that he went down to his house 
justified, pardoned and forgiven; whilst the proud, haughty 


LIFE. 


449 


and self-righteous Pharisee received no blessing at all. God 
will not break the bruised reed, quench the smoking flax, nor 
despise a broken, contrite heart; for he knows our frame and 
remembers that we are dust, and will bless the humble, whilst 
he knows the proud far off. 

Spurgeon expresses the hatefulness of a proud spirit in the 
following forcible manner: 44 There never was a saint yet that 
grew proud of his feathers, but the Lord plucked them out by 
and by. There never was an angel that had pride in his heart, 
but he lost his wings and fell into Gehenna, as Satan and the 
fallen angels did, and there never shall be a saint who indulges 
self-conceit, and pride and self-confidence, but the Lord will 
spoil his glories and trample his honors in the mire and make 
him cry out yet again, 4 Lord have mercy upon me ’ less than 
the least of all saints, and the 4 very chief of sinners.’ ” 

As the flowers beautify our homes and add loveliness to the 
fields and meadows, so an humble life is a great embellishment 
to those who so live, whether they be rich or poor, young or 
old, bond or free. How important, therefore, the divine 
injunction, be ye clothed with humility , which means that it 
should cover, pervade, and embellish all we think, say, or do. 

“ Wherefore should man, frail child of clay, 

Who from the cradle to the shroud, 

Lives but the insect of a day— 

0, why should mortal man be proud? 

Follies and crimes, a countless sum, 

Are crowded in life’s little span; 

How ill alas ! does pride become, 

That erring, guilty creature man! 

God of my life, Father divine ! 

Give me a meek and lowly mind; 

In modest worth, O let me shine, 

And peace in humble virtue find.” 


LIFE. 


ONLY AN EMPTY VESSEL FOP THE MASTER. 


T HE Master stood in his garden, 

Among the lilies fair, 

Which his own right hand had planted, 
And trained with tenderest care. 

He looked at their snowy blossoms, 

And marked with observant eye, 

That his flowers were sadly drooping, 

For their leaves were parched and dry, 

“ My lillies need to be watered,” 

The heavenly Master said; 

“ Wherein shall I draw it for them, 

And raise each drooping head ? ” 

Close to his feet on the pathway, 

Empty and frail and small, 

An earthen vessel was lying, 

Which seemed of no use at all. 

But, the Master saw and raised it 
From the dust, in which it lay, 

And smiled as he gently whispered, 

“ This shall do my work to-day.” 

“ It is but an earthen vessel, 

But it lay so close to me; 

It is small, but it is empty, 

And that is all it needs to be.” 

So to the fountain he took it, 

And filled it full to the brim ; 

How glad was the earthen vessel 
To be of some use to Him! 

He poured forth the living water 
Over his lilies fair, 

Until the vessel was empty, 

And, again he filled it there. 

He watered the drooping lilies, 

Until they revived again ; 

And the Master saw, with pleasure, 

That his labor had not been in vain. 



LIFE. 


451 


His own hand had drawn the water, 
Which refreshed the thirsty flowers ; 
But he used the earthen vessel 
To convey the living showers. 

And to itself it whispered 
As he laid it aside once more, 

“ Still will I lie in his pathway, 

Just where I did before,” 

“ Close would I keep to the Master. 
Empty would I remain, 

And, perhaps, some day he will use me, 
To water his flowers again.” 


THE FORMATION OF CHARACTER. 


REV. F. \V. STUMP, A. M., ORANGEVILLE, ILL. 


3LTON SAYS: “The two most precious things 
this side the grave are our reputation and our life. 
But it is to be lamented that the most contemptible 
whisper may deprive us of the one, and the weakest 
of the other. A wise man, therefore, will be more 
anxious to deserve a fair name than to possess it, 
and this will teach him so to live, as not to be 
afraid to die.” All men are not wise, in the* sense 
in which the term is used above, and therefore we find many 
persons more concerned and anxious about their reputation 
than their character. If only they can succeed in keeping up 
a glowing reputation, the character is but little thought of, or 
regarded as a secondary matter. 

Character signifies vastly more than reputation. A man’s 
reputation is what other men suppose him to be, while his 
character is w T hat he really is, and which God knows him to be. 
Men can be, and often are, deceived, but God, never; and as 
his knowledge and understanding and unerring perception of 
the truth is greater than man’s, by so much also is character 
superior to reputation. Happy is he who sustains a brilliant 









LIFE. 


452 

reputation, but thrice happy he whose character is unsullied, 
and who merits the good name he has, or desires to possess. 

Character is a formation that continues its development 
throughout life, and in its correct development it ever arrives 
nearer to perfection, although it probably never fully reaches 
it this side of eternity. 

As a man is not placed in this world full-grown physically, 
but enters it as a babe, and gradually develops into man¬ 
hood through the periods of childhood and youth, so also 
the immaterial part of his being, his real self, his soul, 
must be developed and rightty developed if the possibilities 
that are there in germ are to be grandly realized. They can 
be realized, but they must be carefully and patiently developed 
in order that the very highest possibilities be unfolded to their 
fullest extent. In the acorn lies the possibility of a mighty 
forest oak, but if the acorn be not placed in the proper con¬ 
ditions of soil, and rain and sunshine, and thus be develox>ed 
in the slow process of growth throughout the years, although 
it have the plastic power within itself, and have the possibility 
of the full-grown tree, it would still be but a possibility, and 
forever remain a possibility. 

In the minds and hearts of men lie grand possibilities. In 
the symmetrical development of the intellectual and moral 
nature of mankind what may they not become—true noble 
men, developed in the powers and virtues of manood! But 
they become such only by development. A wild untutored 
mind is like a piece of wood, useless until it has had the car¬ 
penter’s ax, chisel, plane and square upon it. It is simply a 
bundle of possibilities and nothing more. The same might be 
said also of the untutored heart. 

The formation of character is a life work, and comprises the 
whole period from the cradle to the grave; though the early 
years of life are of the greater importance, since in them the 
foundation is laid on which the super-structure is reared. If 
the foundation is poorly laid and of indifferent or absolutely 
inferior material, the whole building that is reared upon it is 
in danger of toppling over, or of being, at least, ruined by 
settling out of shape, cracking the walls, and making the 
structure unsightly, if not absolutely dangerous. The founda¬ 
tion must be firm. Planted deep, and solidly built of granite 


LIFE. 


453 

or hard substantial stone, it will safely hold the weight of the 
walls that rise upon it. It is a mistake in parents to let their 
children take their own chances in the most important periods 
of childhood and youth. They should see that the foundation 
of character is properly laid. That the solid granite of religious 
truth and personal responsibility to God enter into the very 
foundation, and then as the character is gradually formed it 
will be a noble structure on a firm foundation. 

There are diversities in character just as in buildings, in 
fortunes, in men. As there are no two objects alike in the 
physical world, so neither are there in the invisible or spiritual. 
There is a general sameness in men, in their physical appear¬ 
ance, and yet no two are the exact counterparts of each other. 
Just as diverse as are the bodies, so are also the souls, the 
development of which determines the character. Although 
there are no two exactly alike, yet there are general types of 
character. Some individuals are characterized by viciousness. 
They are grovelling, low and mean, their tendency is down¬ 
ward. They delight in wickedness and wallow in iniquity, 
because it is gratifying to their low, selfish and wrongly 
developed natures. This type of character has become what 
it is by a development, but in the wrong direction. It is a 
pity that there should be any persons representing this type, 
though unfortunately there are many. 

There is another type, which f or want of a better name, we 
will call indifferent or common-place. There is nothing par¬ 
ticularly vicious about it, neither is there anything noble and 
decisive for the right. There has been but little development, 
and consequently no decision, only instability and uncertain 
wavering. And as weeds and briars are the natural product 
of an uncultivated piece of ground, and these even of a stunted 
growth and inferior quality, so this type of character is apt to 
decide for the wrong, though it may not go as far as the vicious. 
As the years come and go it becomes hardened by age in its 
twisted, abnormal condition of short growth, and is of but 
little account. Though this type of character has many 
representatives it should have none. 

Another type, and one that has a goodly number of devotees, 
is the character of the moralist. There are many excellencies 
in this type and it might do very well to be possessed of it, if 


454 


LIFE. 


this life were all there is of existence. It represents some 
force of thought, and moral principle, and decision. It is 
careful about its responsibilities to man ; but either ignorantly 
or maliciously neglects the higher responsibilities to God. It 
might do to live by, but not to die by. 

The Christian is the highest type of character, and this is 
the one we should all strive after. Some of the excellencies 
found in the character of the moralist are, honesty in his deal¬ 
ings with his fellow men, obedience to human law, and loyalty 
to the government. But all these excellencies are found also 
in the Christian character and vastly more. While the moralist 
is honest with his fellow-men, he is dishonest with God, cheat¬ 
ing him out of his own— u robbing God.” While he is law- 
abiding and loyal to the human government, he is rebellious 
against the divine. t 

“We are prone by nature to hate God and our neighbor.” 
Out of this naturally tainted virgin soil spring the weeds of 
selfishness and perverseness which, if not rooted up, will grow 
in rankling vigor and choke the tender plants of submission, 
obedience, faith, hope, and devotion. They will choke out the 
virtues that make up the exemplary Christian character. 
There is, therefore, a weeding process necessary in the devel¬ 
opment of a right character, and the weeds should be removed 
as they appear, while they can easily be destroyed, and not 
left till they appropriate the soil to themselves. The prudent 
gardner understands the importance of beginning battle with 
the weeds as they begin to appear. By diligently keeping up 
the contest through the season he is rewarded with a rich 
harvest. 

There is, therefore, in the formation of a right character a 
necessity of cultivating the virtues in the symmetrical devel¬ 
opment of the whole man, and weeding out the vices. 

What a happy world this would be if the Christian character 
would be developed by all. It would insure a happy, trustful, 
patient and useful life in this world, and, peering beyond the 
vail of time into the scenes of eternity, would be fitting man 
for a habitation there. 

Character is of very great importance. It gauges man’s 
position and usefulness in the world, and even determines his 
position in the great hereafter; for he will carry his character 


LIFE. 


455 


with him there, and will doubtless occupy the place and enjoy 
the degree of happiness or misery which his character will fit 
him for. 

Every soul that is redeemed through the blood of Christ, 
and none will get to heaven on any other grounds, will have 
tlieir capacity for happiness and enjoyment completely filled 
from the ocean of God’s grace, and will be as happy as their 
capacity and character will enable them to be. Is it, 
therefore, too much to say that our character will even deter¬ 
mine our position and condition in heaven? Oh! Wonderful 
and responsible life this, when from it spring such mighty 
issues! A proper development of character tells not only for 
time, but for eternity. 


THE INFLUENCE OF SMALL THINGS IN THE 
FORMATION OF CHARACTER. 


PROF. C. M. LOWE, A. M., TIFFIN, 0. 


OMETIMES, WHEN in my reading, I have found 
a word I did not understand, I have been reluctant 
to stop and leave my comfortable seat and go for 
the dictionary, but I have gone because I felt that 
on that simple act my scholarship depended. If 
I should omit this for once, it would be an element 
in the formation of a careless, unprofitable method 
of reading, and result in the sacrifice of thorough, conscien¬ 
tious scholarship. In such a case the steps from the chair to 
the book case are mighty strides in the advance of complete, 
masterly attainments. 

To remain seated might seem a small thing, to leave 
unsolved a single problem might seem a small thing, the 
omission of a kind word, a friendly smile, of punctuality at 
the place of business, of neatness in the writing of letters or 
the blacking of shoes, of exactness in preparing the dough or 
the prescription, may seem to be unimportant omissions, but 










456 


LIFE. 


may be accompanied by the loss of accurate learning, of 
pleasant friends, happy parents, business position, respecta¬ 
bility, or even life itself. A few drops of pleasant, sparkling 
wine are not much, but they are dreadful drops because they 
swell into a baneful stream which bears the unhappy souls 
who have been allured at its fountains irresistably on to the 
abyss of woe. 

A social game of cards, an evening spent with questionable 
company, the indulgence of reading vicious literature, are 
links of a chain whose increments are forged by their action, 
more numerous and strong until they bind down to the unhap¬ 
py level, whither these influences tend. In our company, as 
in our reading, we are to remember of both people and books, 
what Carlyle says of books, “That they are divided into sheep 
and goats—the latter put inexorably on the left hand of the 
Judge and tending every goat of them, whither we know, and 
much to be avoided and ignored.” 

It may seem a small thing to turn from the reading of God’s 
Word, from the services of his house with the warnings or 
invitations unheeded, but it is a thing of immeasurable 
importance because it is simply remaining in this course 
which fixes our places for eternity. 

We might call some things small if they were absolutely 
separated and had no connection with the rest of our lives. 
A piece of wood might be quite inconsiderable as to size, and 
of no particular importance lying in the forest or in the 
lumber yard, but once it has a place in a structure all the 
parts are more or less dependent upon it. If sound, and 
properly placed, the building stands firm, but if unsound the 
whole edifice may be wrecked because of one small defective 
part. 

A few grains of some mineral substance, encrusted in the 
earth, will have but an insignificant relation to human life, 
but once entering into the life blood as a poison or a restorer, 
will cause the blood to flow again strong and pure, or may 
check its flow and leave the body only a corrupt mass. All 
acts, words, and thoughts then are of vast importance because 
they are parts of ourselves, and cannot be disassociated from 
a relation to the faculties of the soul. 

Vulcan, the God of fire, was born lame and cast from 


LIFE. 


457 

heaven for a term of years, spent his time as an artificer in 
the forges. We are like him in a great degree. We are chil¬ 
dren of the Father of Light. We also are born lame. Lame 
with mortal bodies and sinful natures. Like Vulcan, for our 
lameness, we are for a time excluded from the Father’s pres¬ 
ence. And however unconsciously it may be, and however 
unwillingly it may be, we are all artificers in the forges. The 
hammers are ever in our hands, and are most effectual instru¬ 
ments. They may strike carelessly here and fall idly there; 
blinded we may strike at random, rebelliously, deal out mad, 
wicked blows, or with pure, sincere spirit strike firm and true, 
but with every blow, while the brain and heart perform their 
functions, impressions are made upon the malleable mass 
which shape the character and destiny forever. If then in 
early years our blows are careless or wrong, even in maturer 
years we change them to the proper direction, there is much 
to be undone, and by this time the composition of our natures 
has been so wrought upon that it is hard to be rewrought and 
transformed. 

If we certainly knew what things were really great, and 
what are really small, we might with more safety disregard 
the claims of what we consider small things. But by what 
standard shall we call things great or small? Are the great 
things only those which claim our attention from their massive¬ 
ness or striking qualities. The ocean is vast, but save for the 
tenuous mist and little rain drops would not exist. The bril¬ 
liant pianist and the thrilling words of the orator are but the 
natural results of the simple lesson, faithfully practiced. 

Once at a public meeting two men who had been school¬ 
mates met after an interval of many years. One of them 
who sat in the audience was surprised to hear his old play¬ 
mate deliver an eloquent, powerful address. 

As he grasped his hand after the meeting he exclaimed : 

How did you ever become such a speaker, while I, who 
grew up with you, can’t speak in public at all.” 

“ Well,” was the answer. u the truth is I stayed in the 
Sunday-school and you didn’t,” Faithfulness in a duty which 
his friend had regarded as too unimportant to claim his atten¬ 
tion had brought increased advantages as a scholar, a teacher, 
an officer, leader in institutes and conventions, until the 


30 


LIFE. 


458 

apparently trivial act of remaining in the Sunday-school had 
fruited into the splendid oratory and admirable leadership 
which his friend so much admired. If we could see beyond 
the present and realize the important result of the apparently 
insignificant act we would often find it to be of the greatest 
moment. 

Small things then lie at the very beginning of the forma¬ 
tion of character and are inseparably connected with it. 
Their influence is ever progressive, and, consciously or not, is 
ever moulding our characters until the once plastic material 
is shaped for eternity. 

As a picture is not merely a combination of straight lines, 
or curved lines, or light or heavy lines in a definite direction, 
but the result of the varied combination of these and other 
forms, so the character is not complete by the education of 
one or two faculties, but of all The artist of the picture may 
neglect no single line if his picture is to be a perfect one, and 
we who are character builders, by necessity, must scan with 
the greatest scrutiny, select with our best judgment, and then 
appropriate and apply with the utmost conscientiousness all 
those materials which form the education of the heart and 
make us what we are. 


INFLUENCE OF ASSOCIATES. 



REV. J. W. BARBER, STOUTSVILLE, 0. 


EW THERE are who seem to realize how great is 
the influence of associates ; for which reason, many 
are very careless in the selection of those with 
whom they associate. 

They seem to forget, for the time being at least, 
that they are erecting a great building, namely: 
establishing for themselves a character, and that 
every associate adds to the material which enters into it. 

Were they erecting any other building, they would be very 
careful what kind of material was put into it. They would 












LIFE. 


459 

want nothing but the best, so that when their building was 
finished, it might be at the same time, durable, and valuable. 

But when it comes to the building up of character, how dif¬ 
ferent the course so frequently adopted; how much bad mate¬ 
rial is here used ; and how much, too, is in the shape of evil 
associates. When we look around at the numerous characters 
with which we come in contact, how very few have not some 
dark spots in them, indicating bad material of some kind, per¬ 
haps, evil associates. Now the influence of associates has 
much to do with a person’s life, and usefulness, especially, 
with the young and inexperienced. 

If they are surrounded by, and associate with those who are 
good, pious, and well-behaved, under such influences, they 
will most likely become persons of great value and respecta¬ 
bility ; while, on the other hand, if surrounded by, and per¬ 
mitted to associate with the evil and corrupt, they will most 
likely become persons of bad habits,* and questionable 
characters. 

For instance, take those men of bad habits, and worthless 
lives, who indulge freely in many of the great vices of our day, 
and ask them how they came by these bad habits and evil in¬ 
dulgences, and they will tell you that they were influenced by 
their associates, and by yielding little by little, these evil 
habits were finally formed. Ask again, what kind of associ¬ 
ates it was that influenced them in that direction, and they 
will not tell you that it is the good and pious, but that it was 
the evil and corrupt. From this we can see the force of the 
assertion, that the influence of associates has much to do with 
a person’s life and usefulness. 

Hence, every associate exerts either an evil or a good influ¬ 
ence over us, as he is evil or good. Also, either elevates or 
lowers us in the estimation of others ; from which, we observe 
that the influence of associates has also its effect upon the 
minds of others, with reference to an individual. 

According to the old Spanish saying, “ Tell me with whom 
you live, and I will tell you who you are,”—a person’s associ¬ 
ates become an index to his character; for a person is gener 
ally held in estimation according to the company he keeps. 
If a man’s associates are good and pious, persons of respect 
and good character, the inference is that he, too, is such. But 


LIFE. 


460 

if his associates are corrupt and evil, persons of questionable 
character, the inference is that he is of the same character. 
For just as a man looks over the index of a book, with which 
he is not acquainted, to get some idea of its literary value, so 
the world looks over the associates of an individual to ascer¬ 
tain where he belongs in point of moral worth. 

Since, then, our associates add so largely to the formation of 
our character, and at the same time standout before the world 
as an index to that character, how very careful all should be 
in the selection of their associates. Select the very best. If 
we cannot get such, have none. 


THE LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF LIFE. 


REV. I. A. SITES, COLUMBUS JUNCTION, IOWA. 


HE STERN realities of life are made up of con¬ 
flicting events, in which there is a strange com¬ 
mingling of good and evil. Ever since the crea¬ 
tive fiat went forth in the words “ Let there be 
light ” to illuminate the natural world, there has 
been a moral light which seeks to dispel the dark¬ 
ness produced by subsequent sin. And, although 
the latter has caused a blight to fall upon the moral, as well 
as upon the physical world, yet we are pleased to note that 
there is much around us in life that is worthy of our love and 
admiration. 

Notwithstanding the fact that “ thorns and thistles ” spring 
up unbidden around our pathway, yet, strewn among them 
are the variagated flowers which gleam out like stars among 
the clouds, and send forth their fragrance upon the gentle 
zephyrs to cheer and gladden the heart. 

Ours is a beautiful world. Its earth carpeted with green in 
the Summer-tide, or the yellowing grain and purple clusters 
of the vintage when Autumn approaches, are alike calculated 












LIFE. 


m 

to please and refresh. And, turning our eyes upward to the 
vaulted dome of heaven, we are charmed with the glimmering 
hosts that bestud the sky, and our imagination pictures them 
out as street lamps to that city which is out of sight, “which 
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” 

And, are we confined merely to these external beauties of 
nature to learn that there are delights and pleasures for us? 
Ah, no! For many of these perish and fade away with the 
passing seasons. There are pleasures more lasting than these; 
they are the internal joys of the soul purchased by the con¬ 
sciousness of having been a blessing to others. 

Opportunities are constantly presenting themselves, which, 
if rightly improved, secure to the individual the realization of 
these joys. We are sometimes almost tempted to covet the 
wealth of a Gould, or a Vanderbilt that we might with a lavish 
hand scatter the golden eagles across the thresholds of the 
poverty-stricken, that the naked might be clothed, and the 
hungry fed. Noble ambition ! 

But we need no such fortunes as these to enable us to do 
good, “ for lie that giveth even a cup of cold water to a suffer¬ 
ing one, performs an act grateful to the s'tlfferer, and pleas¬ 
ing to God.” The Scripture promise of forgivness may be 
read to a soul, wandering in the murky atmosphere of doubt 
and despair, which will lead it to the true source of that peace 
and comfort which passeth understanding ; or, words of Chris¬ 
tian hope and consolation may be spoken at the bed-side of 
the dying,which will illuminate the “ dark valley of the shadow 
of death ” and sustain the grief-stricken souls of surviving 
friends. 

Thus, there are many ways in which we can exert an in¬ 
fluence that will intensify the “ lights ” of life, even though 
we are poor in worldly possessions. If we can make the 
world better by our having lived in it, well, but if we have 
brought a blessing to a single soul only, we have not lived in 
vain. And the part which we may bear in ameliorating the 
condition of those around us will greatly enhance our own ap¬ 
preciation of the good and the beautiful. 

But, whilst we are pleased with the beauties of nature, and 
are conscious of having acted in harmony with the will of the 
great Author of all things, our satisfaction is lessened when we 


462 


LIFE. 


look upon the u shadows ” of life. These are cast by events, 
both avoidable and unavoidable. Among the former may be 
mentioned the suffering occasioned by dissipation and licen¬ 
tiousness. 

An unbridled yielding to passion produces both moral and 
physical derangement. Drunkenness, gambling, profanity, 
falsehood, Sabbath-desecration and all these concomitant evils 
bring loss of property, loss of manhood, loss of conscience, and, 
worse than all, loss of God’s approbation. And yet, terrible 
as these evils are, they may be shunned or abandoned by a 
firm resolution to do right, and an entire dependence upon 
the guidance of our Heavenly Father. 

Among the unavoidable and yet prevalent ills of life are 
those natural infirmities and diseases which seem to cling to 
us with a tenacity relinquished alone by death. 

Viewed in one aspect, the world may be compared to a vast 
hospital or charnel-house, into which are gathered human 
beings of every tribe and tongue. Famine, with its long 
fingers, lays hold upon the fairest of the sons of men. 

Pestilence, with its poisoned breath, spreads death over fields 
and plains, already reeking with human gore spilled in a hun¬ 
dred battles. Earthquake and volcanic disturbance conspire 
to lay cities fathom-deep beneath the debris, occasioned by 
their force. The mighty cyclone sweeps over sea and land, 
leaving ruin in its pathway. Surely, we have in this world a 
wonderful commingling of the lights and shadows of life. 

At first sight it might appear that such a condition of things 
is inconsistent with the righteous and benevolent character of 
God, because u He cannot look upon sin with any degree of 
allowance,” and is the.Author and lover of order in the uni¬ 
verse. But such a state of things is not inconsistent with his 
character. We must bear in mind, that man was endowed 
with the power of choosing between good and evil—he chose 
the latter, but not until he had been faithfully warned of what 
the result would be. This not only exonerates God from all 
responsibility in the matter, but the fact that he has made this 
life one of probation, abundantly proves the goodness and 
benevolence of his character, inasmuch as he gives man the 
opportunities and facilities for regaining what had been lost 
in the fall. And so even the unavoidable ills are occasioned, 


LIFE. 


463 

at least indirectly by sin. It is folly, as well as blasphemy, 
for man to charge God with misanthropy, or inconsistency. 

The melancholy wailings of certain persons, that the former 
days were better than the latter, are also unworthy of cred¬ 
ence, because such a theory is as inconsistent with the genius 
of the gospel, as it is with the character of God himself. It is 
quite true that the evil one has legions upon legions of vota¬ 
ries, and, as a result, vice and crime are rife throughout the 
land, but who does not see that the hosts of God are being 
constantly reinforced with recruits from regions, which, but a 
few years ago, were the abodes of barbarians and cannibals ? 
And who, save the sceptic or infidel does not believe that the 
gospel is such that eventually the whole world will be re¬ 
claimed as an heritage for God ? 

The promise of the Savior when he said : “ And I, if I be 
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me,”—will, in 
the process of time, be verified. And the prophetic predic¬ 
tion the u earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory 
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” will in due time be 
fulfilled. 

Just as the light of the natural sun dispels and drives away 
the darkness of the night, so will the “ sun of righteousness il¬ 
luminate the moral world chasing away its shadows and 
gloom. 

Through the evangelizing process that is going forward in 
the world, the u shadows ” of life are destined to become more 
and more suppressed by the oncoming u lights ” that are even 
now shining. And in that grand climax which shall eventu¬ 
ally be reached through the combined agencies of all Chris¬ 
tendom, the shadows of life, morally speaking, will be dis¬ 
persed by the dazzling brightness of that perfect light which 
shall prevail when there will be u no night.” 

“ Then, the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to 
Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they 
shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall 
flee away.” 


LIGHT IN THE CLOUD. 


REV. M. LOUCKS, A. M., DAYTON, OHIO. 


God said—“ Let there be light!” 

Grim darkness felt his might! 

And fled away; 

Then startled seas and mountains cold 
Shone forth, all bright with blue and gold, 

And cried—“ Tis day ! tis day !” 

ET THERE be light!” This was the first mandate 
issued by the Almighty former of the sky and 
earth and sea. Crude chaos moved and forth came 
the first begotten, arrayed in glorious majesty. 
This truly is the symbol of God’s presence and 
glory in this world of sorrow, when the chaotic 
mass of sin recedes before the rising effulgence of 
the everlasting truth. How truly and forcibly light represents 
the experiences of human life. How often have we stood in 
awe before the thick clouds and threatening sky, when above 
and beyond could be seen the rays of the sun, and the silver 
lining of the clouds. How majestic the banks of clouds as 
they tower far into the heavens with those linings of gold! 
•These are the messengers of peace and the display of God’s 
presence amid sorrow. Our experience in this life is made up 
of changes and trials, yet amid them all is the “ clear shining 
after rain,” and the bright light upon the cloud. 

The Christian pilgrim has many dark shadows thrown across 
his pathway. He does not begin his journey without a knowl¬ 
edge of the many trials of faith. He does not enter upon his 
heavenly pilgrimage without being acquainted with the 
Savior’s language, w If any man will come after me, let him 
deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Without 
the cross there is no crown. The greater the pilgrim’s fatigue, 
the sweeter will be the rest. The heavenly rest will then 
become an Eden of unbounded delight. The New Jerusalem 
will then become an eternal resting place, where the clouds of 
adversity shall never again darken our thoughts and depress 












LIFE. 


465 

our spirits. The Christian’s earthly pilgrimage is not without 
its shadows. It is a constant intermingling of lights and 
shadows, of rain and sunshine, of clouds and calms. The most 
devoted and zealous Christian seems to be borne down with 
the greatest trials, yet from these lives of trial spring forth the 
effulgence and glory of a brighter day. When the storm-cloud 
makes its appearance and the heavens become wild and 
furious, we remember that above those heavy clouds and 
darkened sky the sun shines with all his brightness and glory, 
and here and there we see the luminous clouds as beacons of 
the coming calm. 

So to the troubled, care-worn Christian there appears a light 
above the terrors through which he is passing, which inspires 
within the breast brighter hopes, and moves the heart toward 
the attainment of higher virtues and more lasting glories. 
When Abraham had passed through the trials of faith and 
was about to sacrifice his only son, there was not wanting a 
ray of light even in the darkest clouds. At the very extremity 
comes the voice from heaven, saying: u Lay not thine hand 
upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him.” After 
this trial and darkness came the joy. After the darkest hour 
came the brightest sunshine. When faith had so signally 
triumphed, and the heart had been so greatly grieved, comes 
that blessing which could not have been so well appre¬ 
ciated had it not been for the severe discipline through which 
Abraham passed. These clouds are necessary to prepare the 
heart for higher developments. These sorrows and trials are 
the refining agents, and having passed through them there is 
left the pure heart and the fine gold. These clouds of despair 
in the Christian life are sure precursors of coming light which 
shines even to the perfect day. The Christian’s path lies up 
the rugged mountain, and as he advances beholds at his feet 
the craggy heights and scattered clouds. As he ascends he 
comes to the summit, whence he looks down upon the clouds 
playing beneath his feet, whilst above him shines the unchang¬ 
ing light of the eternal day. 

The pilgrim willingly passes through the dark valley. He 
bravely meets Apollyon, or is willingly cast into the lion’s den 
and into the fiery furnace, for the crown of righteousness that 
awaits his arrival at the celestial gate. He goes through 


466 


LIFE. 


storms and passes under clouds, and yet rejoices that above 
and beyond these there is the effulgent light of an eternal day. 
In the darkest night the stars shine brightest, and so amid the 
greatest sorrows God’s grace is shown in fairer lines. That 
marvelous light of grace continues to disperse the gloom and 
girds up the soul for all the terrors that may still await it. It 
is the highest privilege we enjoy, that when surrounded with 
cares and troubles we can find rest in the wounds of a crucified 
and risen Redeemer; and when the storms rage, and the bil¬ 
lows seem to endanger our lives, there is one unto whom we 
may go as our sure refuge and strength. And in the comfort¬ 
ing language of another we conclude this meditation of the 
clouds and shadows, and the lights and blessings, and fears 
and hopes of a Christian life. “ So then,” he says, u our longest 
sorrows have a cloud, and there is a bottom to the profoundest 
depths of our misery. Our winters shall not frown forever; 
summer shall soon smile. The tide shall not eternally ebb, 
the floods must retrace their march. The night shall not hang 
its darkness forever over our souls, the sun shall yet arise with 
healing beneath his wings. Despair not, then, afflicted believer; 
he that turned the captivity of Job can turn thy captivity as 
the streams in the South. He shall make thy vineyard again 
to blossom, and thy field to yield her fruit. Let not despair- 
rivet his cruel fetter about thy soul. Hope vet, for there is 
hope concerning this matter. Trust thou still, for there is ground 
for confidence.” 

“ Blest heaven, how are thy ways just like thy orbs, 

Involv’d within each other? Yet still we find 
Thy judgments are like comets, that do blaze, 

Affright, but die withal; whilst that thy mercies 
Are like stars, who oft-times are obscur’d, 

But still remain the same behind the clouds.” 


THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE. 


REV. D. M. CHRISTMAN, HELENA, 0. 


MAKING ail estimate of life from a superficial 
urvey of the lives and actions of men, one would 
)e led to look upon life as the most certain and 
ibiding object on earth. 

Wherever we direct our observation we behold 
nen and women busily engaged striving and toil- 
ng alter the things which are seen and temporal, 
pertaining to man’s present state of being, whilst they are 
most shamefully neglecting the more important, unseen, and 
permanent things belonging to their more glorious existence 
beyond the grave. Some are engaged in studying how they 
may pass their time in the most careless and unprofitable 
manner. Others are drunken with the sinful pleasures of the 
world; whilst the majority of mankind make riches and hon¬ 
or, station and title the objects of their earnest and constant 
pursuit. In a few words, in the language of another, u They 
make provision for the present life as if it was to continue on 
forever, and for that which is to come as though it had no 
beginning.” 

But all this cannot change the solemn and important truth 
that our life on earth is uncertain; that our days are num¬ 
bered, and our years fleeting. Nor can it take away the force 
of the expression, “Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou 
return.” 

Turning away from what we thus see and hear in our daily 
intercourse with men, and listening to the voice of him who 
is not only the source but also the supporter of all life, as he 
sjjeaks to us in his word, we find that life is compared with 
and represented by the most transitory and uncertain objects 
upon earth. It is likened unto a dream which we scarcely 
remember, to the bird flying through the air whose course 
cannot be found, to the swiftly flowing stream which rushes 
on toward the great ocean, to the shadow or vapor which 










LIFE. 


468 

remaineth a little while and passeth away, to the grass which 
to-day flourisheth in the field and withers when the wind pass¬ 
eth over it, or like the bud that opens with the morning sun, 
unfolds petal after petal until at mid-day it stands in its full 
glory, a perfect, beautiful, and sweet scented fiower, after 
which it commences to wither, loses its flavor, and with the 
setting sun lades away entirely and is seen no more. So man, 
born of a woman, is of few days. Hence the injunction to 
watch and pray and be ready for the hour of death when it 
comes. 

Our life upon earth is with the greatest propriety compared 
to a journey or voyage, and every man to a traveler. This 
journey is not of equal duration for all. We know when and 
where it commences, but we know not when or where it will 
end. It may be long or it may be short, we know not. To¬ 
day is ours, but we may not see the light of to-morrow. Some 
are called away in infancy, before the journey is fairly com¬ 
menced; others may make some progress, and go a short dis¬ 
tance before they are arrested, and their days are numbered. 
Others again may attain to the age of youth, when full of 
ambition and bright hopes, with their plans and schemes for 
the future all well laid, all at once a voice comes to them and 
calls them away. Others have reached middle age, and just 
when deeply immersed in the cares and business of life, 
whilst counting on many years to come, they are overtaken 
by death, and are compelled to obey the summons; whilst 
others must toil along, until weary and tired of life their 
spirits, pressed down by life’s cares and trials, distress and 
sorrows, they are anxiously looking for and eagerly waiting 
their Lord’s coming, to take them home to that purchased 
inheritance where the wicked cease from troubling and the 
weary are at rest. 

This same great truth becomes evident from a careful con¬ 
sideration of the many and various causes that may at any 
moment terminate our life on earth, such as the frailty and 
tenderness of our frame, in consequence of which our life is 
as a vapor that continueth for a little while and then vanisli- 
eth away; the numerous accidents to which we are all liable, 
as well as the many and malignant diseases to which we are 
continually exposed. Death may occur from paralysis, or 


LIFE. 


469 

affection of the heart, terminating our life in the twinkling of 
an eye. Or it may be some painful and burning disease that 
wastes our strength, and carries us to the grave, after lying for 
months on beds of suffering. But in each and every case 
death is sure to come. But we know neither the day nor the 
hour when our Lord will come and call us away. It is all 
uncertain how long we may be numbered among the living, 
or how many days may be added to our life. 

Adding to these considerations what we see in our daily 
experiences and observations, who is not impressed with the 
uncertainty of life ? Who has not already lost a father or 
mother, a sister or brother, or perhaps some dear friend? 
Where is the house death has not entered, perhaps at an 
unexpected moment, and taken away the dearest object of 
affection, or where the family that has not been exempt from 
death’s doings ? How many lie down at night on their beds 
of repose apparently well and secure, who before the morn¬ 
ing dawns close their eyes in death, and pass to the bourne 
from which none ever return ? Who has not seen or heard of 
persons, perhaps in the midst of earthly enjoyments and 
hilarity, without a single thought of the uncertainty of life, 
cut off by some accident and hurried into eternity before they 
could send one sigh to God for pardon?' 

Such is the uncertainty of life, a truth admitted by all, but 
only seriously regarded by a few. Like a vapor it vanisheth 
away—vanisheth from this world, but there is a life which is 
to continue forever in the world to come, for which the pres¬ 
ent is but a preparatory stage, in consequence of which it 
becomes us to hear and heed the injunction to watch and pray, 
to be always ready, to lay in store during the present life for 
that which is to come, to number our days, and keep our 
latter end in view, remembering that 

“ Like the damask rose you see, 

Or as the blossom on the tree, 

Or like the dainty flower of May, 

Or like the morning to the day, 

Or like the sun, or like the shade, 

Or like the gourd which Jonas had, 

E’en such is man, whose thread is spun, 

Drawn out, and cut, and so is done. 


470 


LIFE. 


The rose withers, the blossom blasteth, 
The flower fades, the morning hasteth, 
The sun sets, the shadow flies, 

The gourd consumes—and man, he dies.” 


MISTAKES IN LIFE. 


REV. D. R. TAYLOR, NORTH HAMPTON, 0. 


EAR READER: The above title may embrace a 
subject not unfamiliar to you; for you have doubt¬ 
less had your attention directed to it by the mis¬ 
takes that have fallen under your observation, 
some of which have partaken of the ludicrous, 
whilst others excited your contempt. In the multi¬ 
plicity of “ mistakes ” that are made by many— 
yea too many—there are likewise those that awaken in the 
reflective and serious mind a feeling of sadness and regret, 
because of the serious and fearful results which follow. Mis¬ 
takes of the lips, which are expressed In words may be cor¬ 
rected. Mistakes arising from actions before the public eye, 
may in like manner be remedied. The mistakes of youth may 
be outgrown and forgotten. These, with many others of like 
character that might be mentioned, although they are to be 
regretted, are not so bad as those which so affect the moral 
character of those who commit as to jeopardize their highest 
and best interests for time and eternity. 

Man, as the creature of God, is the possessor of endowments 
which have been given him for wise, noble and glorious ends. 
Advantages, means and surroundings have also been brought 
within his reach and grasp so as to enable him to secure these 
ends. True, our physical life has its limits and bounds beyond 
which it cannot pass; but in every case, and with each indi¬ 
vidual, the allotted time is sufficient to complete and nobly 
finish the work assigned us if we properly use our opportunity 
and make no mistakes. Man enters upon the present stage of 
being with the elements from which a character can and must 
















LIFE. 


471 

be formed, and as life is the period in which this culture and 
development is carried forward to its completion, the charac¬ 
ter becomes fixed with the close of life. If death ends all, 
mistakes made in the formation of character would.not be so 
serious. But as there is a life beyond the present, upon which 
each will enter at death, and as the characters here formed are 
unchangeable, there can be no improvement after death. 
Hence any mistake that affects and leaves a lasting impression 
upon the character, becomes serious and demands the exercise 
of caution and careful action. 

Again ! A mistake made in this life with results reaching 
in the life beyond, becomes wonderfully serious when it not 
only affects him who makes it, but reaches out and leaves its 
baneful effects upon others who perhaps might have made life 
a success if they had not been brought within the reach of this 
mistake. How often parents—perhaps thoughtlessly—make 
a mistake of this class, by improper reasoning and wrong- 
influences, in aiding their children in the formation of their 
character. When reason, observation, conscience and holy 
influences call for the child to be brought to him, who said : 
u Of such is the kingdom of heaven,” they say, “ too young.” 
Oh, w T hat a sad mistake is contained in these two w T ords. They 
are not too young for' the enemy of souls to look after and 
even ruin, but “too young” for the care and service of the 
Son of God. A mistake is again made when the parent says: 
“ I’ll wait—,” for while he is waiting Satan is earnestly at 
work, sowing the seeds, the fruit of which when gathered is 
death. Your waiting may bring sorrow and grief to your 
heart, gray hairs to your head, and a premature grave. Do 
not, therefore, make this mistake. If you love Christ and his 
church, if you appreciate holy and right influences, if you love 
your child, let it come, yea bring it to Christ, and in this no 
mistake will be made. No one can make a mistake by bring¬ 
ing children too early to Christ. 

Mistakes are, again, often made by young men and women 
in delaying to secure the influence of the spirit of Christ to 
aid them in the formation of character. They think they will 
lose the pleasures of life if they become the . disciple of Christ. 
This is a mistake. In passing along the pathway of youth, 
strewn with so many flowers, they say, “ we cannot pluck a 


LIFE. 


472 

single one and will become old before we are young.” This is 
is also a mistake. “Christian characters,” they again say, “will 
do for the aged, but not for the young”—which is a fatal mis¬ 
take which no one should entertain for a moment. The young 
man says, “ It will prevent me from accumulating wealth.” No 
more serious mistake could be made than this if you desire to 
obtain wealth by principles of honesty. The young lady says, 
“ I cannot permit myself to be brought under the influence 
and spirit of him who gave his life a ranson for the world that 
he might aid me in preparing for this and the life beyond, for 
it will materially interfere with my social relations and in 
securing a companion for life.” Oh, how many wrecks are 
seen along the shore of time, of those who make this mistake, 
which, as a rock beneath the surface, produces such sad havoc 
and fearful results. 

Let me ask you to read, ponder and reflect upon the vain 
excuse given by the man who said: “ I have married a wife 
and therefore cannot come,” and of the sad results. But it is 
not only the parent, young man and lady, who make mistakes 
which, if persisted in and carried out, produce results bitter 
and unsavory, for the professed follower of the meek and 
lowly Savior also at times makes mistakes that are sad and 
lamentable. Neglect of church privileges and duties are mis¬ 
takes indulged in by too many, for light and trifling reasons. 
Reader, do you stand identified with the people of God? If 
so, have you made mistakes of this kind ? Has some one said, 
done or permitted something you did not approve of on account 
of which you refused to discharge your duties, and made this 
an excuse of your neglect ? If so, a mistake has been made. 
Has your minister preached too earnestly for you, has he 
rebuked sin in high places ? Yea, has he pointed out the skele¬ 
ton behind your door, at which you became offended? If so, 
you have made a mistake in so doing. Is church discipline 
to rigid for you ? This is also a mistake. Oh, how many souls 
have been robbed of sweet and hallowed blessings by these 
mistakes. 

There is yet another class among whom mistakes may be 
found with serious results, and that is the ministry. What, 
the preacher make a mistake? Yes! He is human and can 
err like all others. I conceive it a gross mistake when the 


LIFE. 


473 

pastor conceives he is the head of the church, and that all 
prosper^, growth and church life emanate from his ability, 
eloquence and masterly expositions of the word. It is a 
serious mistake when the minister concludes the people belong 
to him, and are permitted to think only as he formulates their 
opinions. 

Kind reader, let us follow Christ and look to him for help in 
every time of need, and then the mistakes we may make will 
be covered with the broad mantle of charity, dipped in the 
blood of the immaculate Son of God which cleanses from all 
sin, and thereby gives unto the soul a fixedness of character 
which will prepare us to enter into that “ building not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 


THE TRUE END OF LIFE. 



REV. J. T. HALE, B. S., FAIRFIELD, 0. 


HATEVER MOTIVES underlie conduct, will 
sooner or later be made manifest. Literally 
there is nothing hid that shall not be displayed 
before the eyes of angels and men. We have 
no secret-chamber, where our motives may se¬ 
curely hide themselves ; no dark cellar where 
they can be concealed from the light of day. There is 
not earth enough on this globe to cover them, and if they 
were buried beneath the mountains, the mountains would tell 
the tale of what was buried in their bosom. Upon the purity 
of the fountain of conduct depends the lasting effect of our 
lives. It is very necessary that man’s understanding should 
be right, that his will should have its proper place, and every 
part of his being, be in a healthy condition; but if the true 
end of life is gained, we must begin at the beginning, with the 
heart, for out of it are the issues of life. If this world were 
the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of our lives, 
then other aims and purposes might receive our devoted pur¬ 
suit, but life is opposed to death. And this question presents 


31 









LIFE. 


474 

itself in this form: “ What shall I do that I may live to enjoy 
immortality in this world, as well as immortality in the world 
which is to come ? ” The great mass of mankind are dead, 
lost as a pebble that is cast into the sea. Few, indeed, are the 
names that live through the centuries. Those who lived to 
the present are like the present; they were of short duration. 
Man lives either in a world that was, or in a world that is to be. 
There is no present, for what we regard as the present, is an 
infinitely small point separating what was, and what is to be. 

Limited as the space assigned us is, we can deal Vith only 
the merest generalities. When such a question as this is given 
us, we realize at a glance, that there can be but one true aim 
or end in life, and that is to be useful. To do all the good we 
can, and in all the ways we can. 

First, men live to attain joy, and joy is an effect. Joy is 
the production of virtue, and virtue regards and includes the 
the condition of others. 

Joy is the reflex action of virtue, after virtue has effected 
the end designed. 

Secondly, usefulness means a draft on the storehouse of joy 
indorsed by humanity. This is seen in the person of Luther, 
in the Reformation; and General Grant, in the Rebellion. 
The present' may be unable owing to the moral and mental 
poverty of the times to discharge the obligation, but future 
generations will. 

Usefulness secures, first, the approbation of conscience ; 
secondly, the approbation of the judgment; and, thirdly, the 
approval of Christ, who went about doing good. The true end 
of life is to be conformed to the pattern of Christ, and must in 
the very nature of the case secure the most desirable results, 
being profitable in all things. 


LIFE’S TEARS BOTTLED. 



CUSTOM AMONG the ancients was to catch the 
tears that they wept over their dead in a bottle and 
to place that bottle in the graves of the departed, 
and we have many specimens of the ancient lach¬ 
rymatories or tear-bottles in our museums. The 
tears that were caught in the lachrymatories 
brought up from Herculaneum and Pompeii are all 
gone, and the bottle is as dry as the scoriae of the 
volcano that submerged them. Not so with the bottle in 
which God gathers all our tears. 

First I remark that God keeps perpetually the tears of 
repentance. Many a man has awakened in the morning so 
wretched from the night’s debauch that he has sobbed and 
wept. Pains in the head, aching in the eyes, sick at heart 
and unfit to step into the light. He grieves not about his mis¬ 
doing, but about its consequences. God makes no record of 
such weeping. Of all the million tears that have gushed as 
the result of such misdemeanor, not one ever got in God’s 
bottle. They dried on the fevered cheeks, or were dashed 
down by the bloated hand, or fell into the red wine-cup as it 
came again to the lips, foaming with still worse intoxication. 
But when a man is sorry for his past and tries to do better— 
when he mourns his wasted advantages and bemoans his 
rejection of God’s mercy, and cries amid the lacerations of an 
aroused, conscience for help out of his terrible predicament, 
then God listens; then heaven bows down; then scepters of 
pardon are extended from the throne; then his crying rends 
the heart of heavenly compassion; then his tears are caught 
in God’s bottle. You know the story of Paradise and the 
Peri. I think it might be put to higher adaptation. An angel 
starts from the throne of God to find what thing it can on the 
earth worthy of being carried back to heaven. It goes down 
through the gold and silver mines of earth, but finds nothing 
worthy of transportation to the celestial city. It goes down 
through the depths of the sea where the pearls lie, and finds 
nothing worthy of being taken back to heaven. But coming 







LIFE. 


476 

to the foot of the mountain it sees a wanderer weeping over 
his evil ways. The tears of the prodigal start, but do not fall 
to the ground, for the angel’s wing catches them and with 
that treasure speeds back to heaven. God sees the angel 
coming and says: “ Behold the brightest gem of earth and the 
brightest jewel of heaven—the tear of the sinners repentance! ” 
Oh, when I see the Heavenly Shepherd bringing a lamb from 
the wilderness; when I hear the quick tread of the ragged 
prodigal hastening home to find his father; when I see a 
sailor boy coming on the wharf and hurrying away to beg his 
mother’s pardon for long neglect and unkindness; when I see 
the houseless coming to God for shelter, and the wretched 
and the vile and the sin-burned and the passion-blasted 
appealing for mercy to a compassionate God, I exclaim in 
ecstacy and triumph, “ More tears for God’s bottle! ” 

Again, God keeps a tender remembrance of all your sick¬ 
nesses. How many of you are thoroughly sound in body? 
Not one out of ten! I do not exaggerate. The vast majority 
of the race are constant subjects of ailments. There is some 
one form of disease that you are peculiarly subject to. You 
have a weak side or back, or are subject to headaches or 
faintness, or lungs easily distressed. It would not take a very 
strong blow to shiver the golden bowl of life or break the 
pitcher at the fountain. Many of you have kept on in life 
through sheer force of will. You think no one can understand 
your ditresses. Perhaps you look strong, and it is supposed 
that you are a hypochondriac. They say you are nervous, as 
if that was nothing! God have mercy on any man or woman 
that is nervous. At times you sit alone in your room. Friends 
do not come. You feel an indescribable loneliness in your 
sufferings. But God knows; God feels; God compassionates. 
He counts the sleepless nights. He regards acuteness of the 
pain. He estimates the hardness of the breathing. While 
you pour out the medicine from the bottle and count the drops, 
God counts all your falling tears. As you look at the vials 
filled with nauseous draughts and at the bottles of distaste¬ 
ful tonic that stand on the shelf, remember that there is a 
larger bottle than these, which is filled with no mixture by 
earthly apothecaries, but it is God’s bottle, in which he hath 
gathered all our tears. 


LIFE. 


477 

Again, God remembers all sorrows of poverty. There is 
much want that never comes to inspection. The deacons of 
the church never see it. The controllers of alms-houses never 
report it. It comes not to the church, for it has no appropri¬ 
ate apparel. It makes no appeal for help, but chooses rather 
to suffer than to expose its bitterness. Fathers who fail to 
gain a livelihood so that they and their children submit to con¬ 
stant privation; sewing-women who can not ply the needle 
quick enough to earn them shelter and bread. But whether 
reported or uncomplaining, whether in seemingly comfortable 
parlor, or in damp cellar, or in hot garret, God’s angels of 
mercy are on the watch. This moment those griefs are being 
collected. They are jewels for heaven’s casket. They are 
pledges of divine sympathy. They are tears for God’s bottle. 

Again, the Lord preserves the remembrance of all paternal 
anxieties. You see a man from the most infamous surround¬ 
ings step out into the kingdom of God. He has heard no ser¬ 
mon. He has received no startling providential warning. 
What brought him to this new mind? This is the secret: God 
looked over the bottle in which he gathers the tears of his 
people, and saw a parental tear in the bottle which had been 
forty years unanswered. He said: u Go to, now, and let me 
answer that tear,” and forthwith the wanderer is brought home 
to God. Oh, this work of training children for God! It 
is a tremendous work. Some people think it easy. They 
have never tried it. A child is placed in the arms of the 
young parent. It is a beautiful plaything. You look into 
the laughing eyes. You examine the dimples in the feet; you 
wonder at its exquisite organism. A beautiful plaything! 
But on some nightfall, as you sit rocking that little one, a 
voice seems to fall straight from the throne of God, saying: 
u That child is immortal. The stars shall die, but that is an 
immortal; suns shall grow old with age and perish, but that 
is an immortal! ” Now I know that with many of you this is 
the chief anxiety. You earnestly wish your children to grow 
up rightly, but you find it hard work to make them do as you 
wish. You check their temper. You correct their wayward¬ 
ness ; in the midnight your pillow is wet with weeping. You 
have wrestled with God in agony for the salvation of your 
children. You ask me if all that anxiety has been ineffectual. 


LIFE. 


478 

I answer no. God understands your heart. He understands 
how hard you have tried to make that daughter do right, 
though she is so very petulant and reckless, and what pains 
you have bestowed in teaching that son to walk in the path of 
uprightness, though he has such strong proclivities for dissi¬ 
pation. I speak a cheering word. God heard every counsel 
you ever offered him. God has known all the sleepless nights 
you have ever passed. God has seen every sinking in your 
distressed spirit. God remembers your prayers. He keeps 
eternal record of your anxieties, and in his lachrymatory—not 
such as stood in ancient tomb, but in one that glows and 
glitters beside the throne of God—he holds all these exhaust¬ 
ing tears. The grass may be rank upon your grave and the 
letters upon you tombstone effaced by the elements before the 
divine response will come, but he who hath declared, u I will 
be a God to thee and thy seed after thee,” will not forget. 
And some day in heaven, while you are ranging the fields of 
light, the gates of pearl will swing back, and, garlanded with 
glory, that long wayward one will rush into your outstretched 
arms of welcome and triumph. The hills may depart, and the 
earth may burn, and the stars fail, and time perish, but God 
will break his oath and trample on his promises, never! 

Again, God keeps a perpetual remembrance of all bereave¬ 
ments. These are the trials that throw the red hearts of men 
to be crushed in the wine-press. Troubles at the store you 
leave at the store. Misrepresentation and abuse of the world 
you may leave on the street, where you found them. The 
lawsuit that would swallow your honest accumulations may 
be left in the Court-room ; but bereavements are home troubles, 
and there is no escape from them. You will see that vacant 
chair. Your eye will catch at the suggestive picture. You 
can not fly the presence of such ills. You go to Switzerland 
to get clear of them, but, more sure-footed than the mule that 
takes you up the Alps, your troubles climb to the tip top and 
sit shivering on the glaciers. You plunge into the Mam¬ 
moth Cave, but they hang like stalactites from the roof of the 
great cavern. Your troubles will follow you to the seashore, 
and will keep up with the lightning express in which you 
speed away. Or, tarrying at home, they will sit beside you 
by day and whisper over yiur pillow night after night. I 


LIFE. 


479 

want to assure you that you are not left alone, and that your 
weeping is heard in heaven. You will wander among the 
hills and say: u Up this hill last year our boy climbed with 
great glee, and waved his cap from the top,” or “ this is the 
place where our little girl put flowers in her hair, and looked 
up in her mother’s face,” until every drop of blood in the 
heart tingled with gladness, and you thanked God with a 
thrill of rapture; and you look around as much as to say: 
who dashed out that light ? Who filled this cup with gall ? 
What blast froze up these fountains of the heart ? ” Some of 
you have lost your parents within the last twelve months. 
Their prayers for you are ended. You take up their picture 
and try to call back the kindness that once looked out from 
those old wrinkled faces and spoke in such a tremulous voice, 
and you say it is a good picture, but all the while you feel 
that after all it does not do justice, and you would give almost 
any thing—you would cross the sea, you would walk the earth 
over—to hear just one word from those lips that a few months 
ago used to call you by your first name, though so long you, 
yourself, have been a parent. Now you have done your best 
to hide your grief. You smile when you do not feel like it. 
Though you may deceive the world, God knows. He looks 
down upon the empty cradle, upon the desolated nursery, upon 
the stricken home, and upon the broken heart, and says: 
“This is the way I thresh the wheat; this is the way I scour 
my jewels ! Cast thy burden on my arm and I will sustain 
you ! All those tears I have gathered in my bottle ! ” 

But what is the use of having so many tears in God’s lachry¬ 
matory ? In that great casket or vase why does God preserve 
all your troubles ? Through all the ages of eternity, what use 
of a great collection of tears? Ido not know that they will 
be kept there forever. I do not know but that in some distant 
age of heaven, an angel may look into the bottle and find it 
empty of tears as the lachrymals of earthenware dug up from 
the ancient city. Where have the tears gone to ? What sprite 
of hell hath been invading God’s palace and hath robbed the 
lachrymatories ? None ! These were sanctified sorrows, and 
those tears were changed into pearls that now are set in the 
crowns and robes of the ransomed. 1 walk up to examine this 
heavenly coronet, gleaming brighter than the sun, and cry: 


480 


LIFE. 


u From what river-depths of heaven are these gems gathered ? ” 
and a thousand voices reply: “ These are transmuted tears 
from God’s bottle.”— Talmage . 


PROOFS OF ANOTHER LIFE. 


Lev. rufus b. zartman, a. b., wooster, o. 


AN IS designed for two different lives; the first of 
which is brief and transitory, the second long and 
enduring. His first state of existence is earthly; 
the other may and should be heavenly. 

Men generally are under the happy dominion of 
the belief that there is another life. A few con¬ 
siderations may show the reasonableness of this 
widespread faith, and at the same time confirm us' 
in the blessed and cheering doctrine. 

As we reason by analogy, we come to believe in a future 
and higher state of being. The entomologist informs us that 
insects undergo marvelous transformations, in passing from a 
lower to a higher life. The caterpillar, for illustration, has 
three distinct states of existence ; first, it is larva, which con¬ 
verts into chrysalis, which converts into butterfly. This three¬ 
fold state of butterfly-life may be regarded as a type of human 
existence, namely, man in the womb, man from the cradle to 
the grave, and man in his heavenly destination. The grove¬ 
ling worm, so far as we know, does not aspire to a higher 
sphere of being. Man does, for he strives after the attainment 
of a deathless name. He seeks the possession of imperial 
power and infinite knowledge. That the crawling ephemeral 
insect should transform, ascend in the blue air, and bask in 
the sunbeams, seems far more wonderful than that the God- 
imaged creature, man, should after death rise beyond the sap¬ 
phire welkin. u soar to worlds ..unknown” and enjoy the 
rapturous felicity of another and supernal life. 

The pagan doctrine of metempsychosis confirms the truth 
of another life. A fundamental idea in the theory of trans- 









LIFE. 


481 

migration is that the conscious, sentient soul cannot arrive 
at the thought and feeling that it will ever be annihilated. 
Plato, in the vision of Eurus, the Armenian, records some 
beautiful transmigrations. When he tells us that, the soul of 
the musical Orpheus entered a swan; the soul of fierce Ajax 
passed into a lion; the disembodied spirit of Imperial Aga¬ 
memnon took up its abode in an eagle ; and the soul of Ther- 
sites, who was a mimic and harlequin, descended into a 
monkey. 

“ Thus all things are but alter’d—nothing dies,' 

And here and there th’ unbodied spirit flies.” 

— Ovid. 

These teachings of transmigration proclaim that, man be¬ 
lieves in man’s future and continued state of existence, and 
that the human soul can not realize that it should ever cease 
to be. 

A life beyond these earthly confines, may be inferred from 
the cravings of the human spirit, “ Man never is, but is always 
to be, blest.” The soul yearns for enjoyment; to-day and yes¬ 
terday did not gratify this longing, save in part; it is hoped 
that to-morrow, kind as an angel of mercy, will confer upon 
us the desired good. However, much of blessing the to¬ 
morrows have bestowed, there is ever more wanted, and this 
more appears the main good, the chiefest benediction. In the 
present we peer into the future for the attainment of what we 
most desire. To-day points us to the following, and that to 
the day after, till ultimately death is at hand. What, now, 
becomes of our unsated desires, disappointed hopes, blighted 
prospects, and unfulfilled anticipations? If death ends all, 
life is a cruel mockery, and human expectation, an irony too 
merciless to be named ! That the aspirations of the spirit in 
man may be met and requited, another life is in demand. 

If ever men are truthful it is when they come to die. 

Few men, if any, possess the daring to falsify, while the 
grim reaper, death, stares them in the face. The words of the 
dying, therefore, have the full force of sworn testimony ; and 
more, by so much as we believe a man in the court of death 
rather than when he gave testimony in the court of law. Let 
us hear the dying evidence of Dr. Paulus, professor of Biblical 
Literature, at Heidelberg. In the substance of his religious 


482 


LIFE. 


belief, he was atheistic, denounced the supernatural, and re¬ 
jected the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. At the 
commencement of his final sickness, he affirmed that he was 
about to die, and that that would be the end of him. In such 
a comfortless faith, he did, with apparent composure, await 
his last end. When the closing scene, however, arrived, he 
lay in speechless silence for some hours. It was surmised that 
he would not speak again. But at the extreme last he sud¬ 
denly opened his eyes, stared heavenward, just as if seeing 
something unseen to other than dying sight, and raising him¬ 
self in bed, he exclaimed: u There is another life! ” and 
expired. 

The wondrous transformation of insects, the truth contained 
in the theory of the transmigration of souls, the aspirations of 
the human spirit, and the testimony of the dying atheist, pro¬ 
claim the truth that, there is another life. 

Let the reader beware, lest he forfeit the happiness of eter¬ 
nal life by the falsity of faith, like that of Dr. Paulus. 


I’M GROWING OLD. 


M Y DAYS pass pleasantly away, 

My nights are blessed with sweetest sleep : 
I feel no symptoms of decay, 

I have no cause to mourn or weep ; 

My foes are impotent and shy, 

My friends are neither false nor cold ; 

And yet of late, I often sigh : 

“I’m growing old.” 

My growing talk of olden times, 

My growing thirst for early news, 

My growing apathy to rhymes, 

My growing love of easy shoes, 

My growing hate of crowds and noise, 

My growing fear of taking cold: 

All whisper in the plainest voice 
I’m growing old. 





LIFE. 


483 


I’m growing fonder of my staff, 

I’m growing dimmer in the eyes, 

I'm growing fainter in my laugh, 

I’m growing deeper in my sight, 

I’m growing careless in my dress, 

I’m growing frugal of my gold, 

I’m growing wise, I’m growing—yes 
I’m growing old. 

I see it in my changing taste, 

I see it in my changing hair, 

I see it in my growing waist, 

I see it in my growing heir: 

A thousand signs proclaim the truth, 

As plain as ever truth was told, 

That even in my vaunted youth— 

I’m growing old. 

Ah me ! My very laurels breathe 
The tale in my reluctant ears, 

And every boon the hours bequeath 
But makes me debtor to the years. 
Even Flattery’s honeyed words declare 
The secret she would fain withhold, 
And tell me, in “ How young you are,” 
I’m growing old. 

Thanks for the years whose rapid flight 
My sombre muse too sadly sings! 
Thanks to the gleams of golden light, 
That tint the darkness of their wings: 
The light that beams from out the sky, 
Those heavenly mansions to unfold, 
Where all are blest, and none may sigh 
I’m growing old. 


My days pass pleasantly away, 

My nights are blessed with sweetest sleep; 
I feel no symptoms of decay, 

I have no cause to mourn or weep ; 

My foes are impotent and shy, 

My friends are neither false nor cold. 

And yet, of late, I often sigh : 

I’m growing old. 


—John G. Saxe. 


OLD AGE. 



REV. D. WINTERS, D. D., DAYTON, OHIO. 


HE LIFE of man may be and often is variously 
viewed, so that we may speak of it as a journey, 
a pilgrimage, a battle, a warfare, a dream. Or we 
may divide it into epochs, such as infancy, youth, 
manhood and old age, corresponding with the divi¬ 
sions of the year, according to which we speak of 
the spring tide, summer, autumn and winter of 
life. And although we may not be able to draw the line that 
divides one period from another, telling just where the one 
begins and the other ends, the periods themselves are clearly 
marked and well defined. All know that infancy is the 
period of helplessness and dependence, during which the child 
has to be fed, clothed and taken care of by the parents, being 
able to do but little for itself. Passing from this to youth all 
is changed. The body and soul with all their powers are now 
so developed and strengthened that life opens joyously, and is 
taken up with the sports and amusements, builds air-castles, 
dreams of the future, and lays the foundation for what is to 
follow. Manhood is the period of action and conflict, when 
the stern realities of life are to be met and its great work done. 
As the season of fruitage in the natural world follows the 
spring and summer, so the period of manhood is but the out¬ 
growth and full development of his former life. He now 
chooses a profession, settles down to business and provides for 
himself and those associated with him the comforts and con¬ 
veniences of life. Passing from manhood to old age, man 
reaches the period of comparative rest and enjoyment. His 
powers now, however strong they may have been, gradually 
grow weaker, and admonish him of the near approach of 
death, when he must leave the scenes and friends of former 
years all behind and pass to that bourne from which no traveler 
ever returns. 

It is a question often asked which of these periods in the life 












llow old art thou? Thou feeble man, and hoary, 

Gay youth and manhood’s prime have passed away— 
And, on thy brow, Time’s record tells the story 
Of ripening years, and nature’s sure decay, 

As lengthening shadows mark the day declining, 

Life’s dial-plate denotes thy setting sun— 

And soon, all earthly cares and thoughts resigning, 
Thou’lt rest in calm repose, thy labor done. 














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LIFE. 


485 

of man is most to be desired, and which has the greatest enjoy¬ 
ment? The question is said to have been once earnestly dis¬ 
cussed at a festal party where the old and young were gathered 
who, not being able to decide it, referred it to the host, whose 
head was whitened with the frosts of four score years, where¬ 
upon he asked if they had noticed the grove of trees before 
the dwelling, and said: “When the spring comes, and in the 
soft air the buds are breaking on the trees and they are covered 
with blossoms. I think, how beautiful is spring! And when 
the summer comes and covers the trees with heavy foliage and 
singing birds all among the branches, I think, how beautiful 
is summer! When autumn loads them with golden fruit and 
their leaves bear the gorgeous tint of frost, I think, how 
beautiful is autumn! And when it is sere winter and there is 
neither foliage nor fruit, then I look up and through the leaf¬ 
less branches, as I could never until now, I see the stars shine 
through. This is the blessed privilege of age. The young 
look forward with bright hopes through blooming flowers and 
opening buds of promise, the middle-aged are so engaged with 
life’s work and toil that they do not look beyond the thick 
foliage that droops around their cots, imparting its cooling 
shade and pleasant breezes to fan their feverish brows; and 
when life’s autumn brings forth its golden store, when chil¬ 
dren’s children climb upon the knee, and when the crisp air is 
laden with the harvest song, and the reapers of life’s golden 
grain return with many sheaves, the heart is then so full that 
youth seems to return again with lively hopes.” 

The thoughts just expressed, whilst they may not answer 
to the satisfaction of all, the question, which perio4 of life is 
most desirable, are nevertheless very suggestive and give food 
for profitable reflection to all concerned. 

To many, especially the young and pleasure-loving portion 
of mankind, old age, as they look through the summer and 
autumn of life, has a very sombre appearance, seeming as 
black and dreary as winter itself, from which they recoil and 
often wish it might never come to them. They think only of 
the wasted strength and faltering step, the enfeebled powers 
and palsied form, the aches and pains, the poverty and neg¬ 
lect, the feebleness and infirmity which often characterizes 
old age. To such, and indeed to all it is a mercy that these 


LIFE. 


486 

things come so slowly and gradually, that they creep upon us 
without scarcely knowing anything of their approach, losing 
in this way whatever sadness they might otherwise have. 

But true as it is, that there are some things which cast a 
sombre appearance, around old age there are others again that 
are of the opposite character, making it a period of much 
honor and glory, so that it often passes away as softly and 
pleasantly as the sun sinks behind the hills and mountains to 
rise again in another hemisphere. For if life be one of the 
choicest blessings of a kind Providence, it must be a special 
favor or gift to have it lengthened out to four score years, and 
if rightly improved, there is always much in the review of it 
that is pleasant and comfortable, making the hoary head a 
crown of glory when found in the way of righteousness. 

The respect which all right-minded persons have for old age 
must be very pleasant to those who are honored in this w r ay. 
No one can see the young vie with each other in paying 
respectful deference to age, nor see them rise and offer their 
seats to an old man or woman, or sit at their feet asking 
counsel and instruction, without feeling that old age has its 
joys and pleasures as well as its aches and sorrows. So great 
indeed is the respect that is sometimes paid to aged persons 
by their children and acquaintances, who do so much to lighten 
their burdens and sorrows, and alleviate their infirmities, 
that they hardly know that they are old. The Lord will surely 
bless those who are thus thoughtful and kind to the aged. 

Tradition tells us that when the Apostle John became so old 
and feeble that he could not go to the church, his friends would 
carry him, and then gather around him with filial respect and 
affection, listening to his exhortation which was summed up 
in a few words, “ Little children love one another. 

The aged also have much pleasure in thinking over what 
they have done for their children and others during their long 
life. The broad acres they purchased and cleared, the house 
they built, the children they reared, the books they bought, 
and the progress they offered, the schoolhouses and churches 
they helped to build, the gifts and visits they made to the poor 
and suffering, the sermons they preached, the sorrows and 
distress they relieved, the words of encouragement they spoke, 
with numberless other things are now a solace and comfort to 


LIFE. 487 

them, whilst they trust and hope their many failings and sins 
have been pardoned and atoned for by the blood of Christ. 

Let us not, therefore, think lightly of old age, for it too, has 
its joys and pleasures as well as the other periods of life. And 
if spared to see and experience it ourselves, let us bear it 
patiently and cheerfully, laboring according to our strength 
and opportunity to make ourselves useful, waiting, in the 
mean time, for our departure to the land of the blessed where 
we shall never grow old, but continue for ever in the vigor of 
youth, praising and glorifying God. 

Charles Wesley, one of the princes of uninspired song, wlio 
died in his eightieth year, gives us a beautiful example of a 
peaceful old age and calm death in putting his last prayer in 
the following touching lines which he requested his wife to 
write as she sat by his bed side. 

“ In age and feebleness extreme, 

Who shall a helpless worm redeem ? 

Jesus, my only hope, thou art 
Strength of my failing, flesh and heart, 

O, could I catch a smile from thee, 

And drop into eternity.” 

We close with the following beautiful incident: An aged 
man was once seen going along humming a sweet hymn in 
joyful glee, who was asked why should an old man be so 
merry and cheerful, to which he quickly replied: “ It is not 
so with all.” “ Why,” he was then asked, “ are you so cheer¬ 
ful?” to which he quickly replied, “Because I belong to the 
Lord.” Again he was asked, u Are none except those who 
belong to the Lord happy, at your period of life ?” to which he 
replied, “ No, not one, and listen to me and ring it around the 
earth, the Devil has no happy old men, which no man over 
three score years and ten will be found to gainsay.” 


488 


LIFE. 


EVENTIDE. 


And Isaac went out to mediate in the field at eventide.—Genesis xxiv, 63. 

S WEET EVENING hour! Sweet evening hour! 
That calms the air and shuts the flower, 

That brings the wild bee to its nest, 

The infant to its mother’s breast. 

Sweet hour! that bids the laborer cease 
That gives the weary beasts release, 

And sends them home, and crowns them there 
With rest and shelter, food and care. 


Oh season of soft sounds and hues, 
Of twilight walks among the dews, 
Of feelings calm and converse sweet, 
And thoughts too shadowy to repeat! 


Yes, lovely hour! thou art the time 
When feelings flow and wishes climb; 
When timid souls begin to dare, 

And God receives and answers prayer. 


Then, trembling through the dewy skies. 
Look out the stars, like thoughtful eyes 
Of angels, calm, reclining there, 

And gazing on the world of care. 


Sweet hour! for heavenly musing made, 
When Isaac walked, and Daniel prayed ; 
When Abram’s offering God did own, 
And Jesus loved to be alone. 


—A nonymous . 



HORTICULTURE. 



REV. E. H. OTTING, B. A., WADSWORTH, 0. 


jORTICULTURE IS the most ancient employment 
ordained by the Creator for man. In the words of 
Lord Bacon, “ It is the greatest refreshment of the 
spirit of man, without which buildings and palaces 
are but gross handiworks, and man will even see 
that when ages grow to civility and elegance, men 
come to build stately sooner than to garden finely, 
as if gardening were the greatest perfection.” Horticulture is 
no new idea. The sacred word refers to the Garden of Eden, 
and to Adam and Noah as gardeners. Moses represents gar¬ 
dens as “located by the riverside, having cedars by the 
waters, and the whole land watered by the foot as a garden of 
herbs.” The hanging gardens of Babylon and Nineveh are 
described. Homer sings of the gardens of Alcinous, adorned 
with its trees and vines, full of flowers and fruits at the same 
time. Virgil, in his Georgies and Bucolics, treats at length 
of horticulture as it was more than two thousand years ago. 
He describes most of the shade and fruit trees known to us. 
He speaks of the ivy, acanthus, poppy, marigold and violet. 
He teaches the propriety of grouping plants and trees, and 
adorning gardens with fountains and statuary. Charlemagne, 
in the eighth century, established gardens for improvement 
in horticulture, prescribing by royal edict the plants which 
should be reared in them. Castle and convent gardens in the 
middle ages were numerous. At the present day, the differ¬ 
ent nations express their love for the beautiful in gardening. 

Horticulture is doubtless the most elevated and elevating 
pursuit known to the civilized world. In embarking in the 
culture of fruits and flowers, we approach nearest to the 
threshold of primeval purity and innocence. Whosoever is 
thereunto inclined, (as thousands of our best and noblest citi- 

source of 
Kind- 


one of them it is a 


zens are, and that to every 
purest delight) gives evidence of high, moral aims. 


32 










LIFE. 


490 

ness and courtesy are the prominent characteristics of their 
nature. It does not only contribute to the necessities of life, 
but furnishes some of the most acceptable articles of our 
daily food; certainly the most health-giving and delicious 
among them. But horticulture is an art which also surrounds 
our homes with beauty, since it teaches us the best arrange¬ 
ments, and the highest ornamentation of our grounds and the 
provision of shade and shelter, both from the scorching heat 
of a summer sun, and from the piercing blasts of a winter’s 
storm ; while at the same time, it enables us to beautify our 
surroundings with some of the most lovely objects in nature, 
tilling our lawns and shrubberies with flowering and orna¬ 
mental plants, our borders and parterres with brilliant and 
fragrant flowers during the summer, and our windows and 
plant houses with cheerful blossoms in the midst of winter. 

Our lives are influenced by our surroundings. We may not 
be conscious of it, but still the silent force which we call 
Destiny is at work moulding our lives. Dependent as we are 
upon one another, we learn more by contact with others than 
we do by our own strength. Communion with the works of 
nature afford not only pleasure but profit. We invariably 
learn of her something useful. He who spake as never man 
spake, said, u Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; 
they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, 
that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one 
of these.” When the Master in his sermon on the Mount, 
called the attention of the multitude to the flowers of the 
field, to consider how they grow, it doubtless was to teach 
them the important lesson of doing all things in accordance 
with the laws of nature, for, said he, u they toil not, neither 
do they spin,”—they grow according to God’s law. Therefore, 
we who were created to have the care of, and the dominion 
over, every living thing upon the face of the earth, should 
consider with attention the plants and flowers around us, how 
they grow, how varied and eloquent they are, with what 
exquisite skill they are fashioned and adorned, the rich and 
delicate perfume they emit, and learn with profit the lesson 
they teach. If we obey the laws of nature, nothing but good 
comes of it. She is the great educator. For the poet she has 
poetry written on everv leaf and flower. She is the master 


LIFE. 


491 

artist, for, who ever painted such sunsets as she ? She is a 
model linguist, for “ to him who in the love of nature holds 
communion with her visible forms she speaks a variable 
language.” How can we better enjoy this communion with 
her than by being horticulturists ? That the study of nature 
elevates and enobles man is an established fact. As the mind 
is dependent upon the body for strength, whatever contributes 
to health conduces also to mental growth, and where do we 
find people of better physical development than among those 
who work in the open air and eat plenty of fruit ? 

There is also a certain dignity and independence about this 
kind of employment, which to many is its greatest charm. 
The pursuit of the horticulturist is not a mere round of dull 
and wearisome labor. His toil is lightened by much enjoy¬ 
ment, while he carefully watches’the budding germ, nurtures 
the tender seedling, trains the ascending stem, prunes the 
wandering branches, observes the opening flowers, and awaits 
the ripened fruit. The more interest taken in horticulture 
the greater the increase of the love at home. There will be 
no danger of the boys and girls wishing to leave such homes 
for the over-crowded cities and towns. If they are properly 
educated, they can enjoy the influence of good society in the 
country as well as in the city. There is not a farm so small 
that a yard filled with shrubs and shade trees would not 
beautify. There is no other class of men who have it in their 
power to make their homes home-like by trees, shrubs, and 
flowers so easily and cheaply as the farmer. In this beauti¬ 
ful land of ours, this land of wood and prairie, hill and dale, 
the All-wise Creator has Carpeted this vast extent of country 
with a mantle of green, and bespangled it o’er with myriads 
of floral gems. Therefore, as we clear away the forest and 
plow up the prairie, thereby banishing the beautiful flowers, 
trees, and vines from their native haunts, let us bring them 
to our homes and plant them in our yards and gardens, that they 
may be perpetuated; that we and our children, in the heat of 
the day, may enjoy the cool shade of the trees, and at even¬ 
tide listen to the sweet murmur of the wind among the 
branches; that we may behold with admiration the exquisite 
beauty of the flowers, and inhale with delight their delicate 
perfume, and learn with profit the lesson they teach. 


492 


LIFE. 


“ Then make your home beautiful—bring to it flowers. 

Plant them around you to bud and to bloom; 

They will give life to your loneliest hours, 

And also bring light to enliven your gloom. 

Then shall it be, when afar on life’s billows, 

Wherever your tempest-tossed children are flung, 

They’ll long for the shades of the home weeping willow, 

And sing the sweet songs which their mother had sung.” 

The special field of activity which we have considered, is 
urged upon you, not only as a pleasant pursuit, but profit also. 
Much might be said in regard to the neglects of horticulture ; 
not only as regards the beautifying of our homes and sur¬ 
roundings, but also as respects the cultivation of the luscious 
fruits which Providence has created for our health and 
gratification. 

In no enterprise is success universal. If some fail at fruit¬ 
growing, so do others at ordinary farming. But granted that 
fruit culture is a paying employment, it must be the man, and 
not the business at whose door the failure should be laid. The 
demand for fruit enlarges annually, and prices of all varieties 
continue to rise. Blessed is the man who lives in the country; 
where he can breathe the fresh oxygen, as it comes pure and 
sweet from God’s own laboratory ; where he comes into daily 
communion with nature; where he beholds the grandest 
sight of all, the golden glories of the morning, when— 

“ The trembling pulses of the daw’n 
Fill with faint gold the violet skies, 

And on the moist day-smitten lawn 
The peace of morning lies.” 

The horticulturist has a noble mission. He is the best 
friend of the best place in the world—the country. He is a 
worker with God in beautifying his great temple, and making 
it more declarative of his glory, and worthy of his praise. 
Then, act well your part, and you will have a rich reward in 
time with the full fruition of the world beyond, where the leaf 
shall not wither nor the flower fade. 

“ 0 painter, of the fruits and flowers ! 

We thank thee for thy wise design, 

Whereby these human hands of ours, 

In Nature’s garden work with thine. 


LIFE. 


493 


And thanks that from our daily need 
The joy of simple faith is born, 

That he who smites the Summer weed 
May trust thee for the Autumn corn. 

Give fools their gold, and knaves their power; 
Let Autumn’s bubbles rise and fall; 

Who sows a field or trains a flower, 

Or plants a tree, is more than all; 

For he who blesses most is blest, 

And God and man shall own his worth 

Who toils to leave as his bequest 
An added beauty to the earth. 

And soon or late, to all that sow, 

The time of harvest shall be given; 

The flowers shall bloom, the fruits shall grow, 
If not on earth, at least in heaven.” 



I 











. . 

















PART V. 
DEATH. 























DYING. 


C AN this be death— 

That paints my cheeks a deadly pale ? 
Say is this death ? 

My eyes stand still, my senses fail— 
Sure, this is death. 

The earth till now so fair and bright, 

Recedes before my dim, dim sight— 

I know ’tis death ! 

Like one, who weary of the light, 

Desires to sleep ere it is night, 

And courts repose. 

So now across my senses creep— 

The power and charm of early sleep ; 

And fainter, feebler, slower grows 
My pulse—0, tell me who that knows, 

Is not this death? 

This must be death— 

Is it not death ? Is it not, say— 

This feeble breath? 

This ebbing of my strength away— 

Is not this death? 

It comes like evening’s kind repose 
While twilight shadows round me close— 
Sure this is death. 

All objects fade in viewless air, 

And leave no trace of image there; 

I know tis death. 

******* 
My eyes now gain their powers once more, 
But see not what they saw before; 

I sink—I rise—’tis night—’tis day; 

My spirit plumes to leave its clay— 

O, this is death ! 



498 


DEATH. 


WHAT IS DEATH ? 


W HAT IS death? 0, what is death? 

’Tis the snapping of the chain ; 
’Tis the breaking of the bowl; 

’Tis relief from every pain ; 

’Tis freedom to the soul; 

’Tis the setting of the sun, 

To rise again to-morrow— 

A brighter course to run, 

Nor sink again to sorrow, 

Such is death; yes, such is death.” 


THE STREAM OF DEATH. 


T HERE is a stream whose narrow tide— 
The known and unknown worlds divide, 
Where all must go; 

Its waveless waters dark and deep 
’Mid sullen silence, downward sweep, 

With moanless flow. 

I saw where,-at that dreary flood, 

A smiling infant prattling stood, 

Whose hour was come, 

Untaught of ill, it neared the tide, 

Sunk as to cradled rest, and died— 

Like going home. 

Followed with languid eye anon— 

A youth deceased, and pale, and wan ; 

And there alone 

He gazed upon the leaden stream, 

And feared to plunge—I heard a scream, 

And he was gone. 

And then a form in manhood's strength 
Came bustling on, till there at length 
He saw life’s bound, 

He shrunk, and raised the bitter prayer— 

To late—his shriek of wild despair— 

The waters drowned. 






DEATH. 


499 


Next stood upon that surgeless shore, 

A being, bowed with many a score 
Of toilsome years. 

Earth-bound and sad, he left the bank, 
Back turned his dimming eye, and sank, 
Ah ! full of fears. 

How bitter must thy waters be, 

O, Death ? How hard a thing, ah me, 

It is to die ! 

I mused—when to that stream again, 
Another child, of mortal man 

With smiles drew nigh. 

’Tis the last pang; he calmly said— 

To me, O Death ! thou hast no dread; 
Savior, I come! 

Spread but thine arms on yonder shore— 
I see ! Ye waters bear me o’er— 

There is my home. 


PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 



REV. B. F. TUCKER, BLOOM CENTER, 0. 


HERE IS one event which happeneth alike to all; 
to the rich and the poor, the high and the low, 
the learned and the unlearned, the old and the 
young, the righteous and the wicked, and from 
which nothing can screen us, as it is appointed unto 
men once to die, and there is no discharge in this 
war. Those who have thought the most about 
death in times of health, have found it to be a far more serious 
thing than they imagined, when brought to experience its 
reality. The living know that they must die; and yet, how 
few lay it to heart. How few there are who so number their 
days as to apply their hearts to wisdom. In the country and 
small villages where death seldom comes, the people scarcely 
ever think of it, and go on with their business as if it would 
continue forever, whilst in the large cities, where the bell tolls 












DEATH. 


500 

every day, and they constantly see the dead borne to the 
cemetery, its frequency takes away its solemnity. 

When it pleases God to remove a neighbor, or loved one, we 
should regard him as admonishing us to prepare for death, or 
as if he said, u thougtless mortals, remember that your life is 
but a vapor that appeareth fora little time, and then vanisheth 
away.” This will shortly be your end. Therefore, prepare for 
it. “ He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” The hour 
of death is the hour of the Lord’s coming to bring our life to a 
close, to separate the spirit from the body, and call the soul to 
its tribunal, and fix its state in endless bliss or woe. And, al¬ 
though his coming in death will not be visible as it will be at 
the last great day, it is equally important and solemn in its 
consequences, as Jesus has the keys of death and the unseen 
world, and will open the doors of heaven to his people, and 
that of misery to the wicked. But the time of his coming is 
a profound secret, of which no one knows the day or hour. 

There is, indeed, “an appointed time to man upon the 
earth,” for his days are determined, and his months are with 
God, who has fixed the bounds which he can not pass. But 
where these bounds are no one can tell; for it is not for us to 
know. To be prepared to meet death should, therefore be the 
first great object of our lives. And, as no one remaining in a 
state of sin is prepared for death, we should ask, what is it to 
be ready for death and in what does a preparation for it 
consist ? 

The foundation of this preparation is an interest in Christ, 
for, u Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord,” As sin and 
death came by Adam, so righteousness and life are by Christ. 
As our being in Adam is the cause of death in this, and in the 
world to come ; so our being in Christ is the cause of life in 
this, and in the world to come. As our union with the first 
man subjected us to sin and death, so our union with the sec¬ 
ond ^.dam can alone secure to us righteousness and life. “I am,” 
said Jesus, “the life, and am come that they may have life ; 
and he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he 
live ; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never 
die.” The only security, therefore, against sin and death, is 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The soul that is convinced of 
sin, that sees its lost and ruined condition, feels a Godly sor- 


DEATH. 


501 

row for sin, and flees for refuge to Christ, is secure; for the 
name ot the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it 
and are safe. Hence, the great desire of Paul was that he 
might be found in Christ, not having on his own righteousness, 
but the righteousness of Christ, by faith. If we are united to 
Christ, and are interested in his righteousness, death cannot 
hurt us, and is like a serpent that has lost its sting, for the sting 
of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law ; but thanks be 
to God, who gives thus the victory, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

This is the true and only preparation for death; for as it is 
sin that makes death terrible, Christ taking away sin, takes 
away the sting of death and so robs it of its terror. Hence, if 
we believe in him, death can not hurt us, “ for there is no con¬ 
demnation to them that are in Christ Jesus/’ 

We cannot be prepared for death unless we are prepared 
for heaven, and no one is prepared for heaven who is not re¬ 
newed in the spirit of his mind; for Christ has solemnly 
declared, that u except a man be born again he cannot see 
the kingdom of heaven.” And again u except ye be converted, 
and become as little children, ye can in no wise enter into the 
kingdom of heaven.” In these words we are plainly taught in 
what a preparation for death and an entrance into heaven con¬ 
sists, which is a sincere and genuine repentance. Butin what 
does this repentance consist ? Is it a mere desire to be saved, 
a cold, heartless wish not to have sinned, is it sufficient if I 
should sav, “ I believe that Jesus Christ came into the world 
to reconcile me to God—I know that God is merciful and 
gracious, and that I shall, therefore, be saved for Christ’s sake ?” 
Or does repentance also imply a radical change of heart, and 
thorough reformation of life ? By regenerating grace, the true 
penitent is formed for glory. God has given a new direction 
to his affection, for he now sees the evil of sin, and sincerely 
hates it. He sees the beauty of holiness, and evidently desires 
it. In these blessed dispositions consist the believer’s habitual 
readiness for death, but it is usual also to speak of his actual 
readiness. Our Lord has illustrated the difference between 
habitual and actual readiness for death. 

A housekeeper is habitually ready for the thief, when he 


502 


DEATH. 


has taken all proper measures to secure his habitation by bars 
and bolts, and is actually ready when he stands armed to op¬ 
pose his entrance. So the Christian is habitually ready to serve 
his master at any hour of the day, and in any work to which 
he may be called, and is actually ready for his Lord’s return, 
when he keeps awake and the graces of the Spirit are in lively 
exercise; when faith is strong, triumphing over doubt and 
uncertainty; when hope is firm, subduing painful fears ; when 
love to God,and Christ, and heavenly things is ardent, and he 
is engaged in performing the duties of his station, or calmly 
submitting to the afflicting hand of God, and the thought of 
death becomes familiar and pleasant, and the view of glory 
bright and enchanting. Then, with the world under his feet, 
heaven in view, and Christ in his arms, he can say, “Lord, 
now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy 
word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” 

When should this preparation for death be made ? Early in 
life according to the command ; “ Remember now thy Creator 
in the days of thv youth, while the evil days come not, nor the 
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in 
them.” The salvation of the soul ought to be the first business 
of life, as it is the most important. Are you, therefore, young, 
middle-aged, or aged, you ought to prepare for the great 
change that will shortly come, so that when the chilly hand of 
death steals upon you, you may be able to say, “Come, wel¬ 
come death, thou end of fears, I am prepared to go.” Remem¬ 
ber this is not your home, you are but a stranger and a pilgrim 
upon earth. You have here no continuing city. Let the 
scenes that daily surround you prompt you to secure a better 
and more enduring inheritance. Whether you are young or 
old, you are but in the threshold of your existence, and are 
destined for the eternal world. But in passing through that 
world you must die, for death’s dark domain lies between you 
and it. And, though death to the wicked be terrible, it need 
not be so to you; “ for to the righteous it is only a narrow pas¬ 
sage from a state of suffering and conflict to a state of peace 
and rest,” where the weary find repose, the warrior a triumph, 
and the victor a crown. 

Soon borne on time’s most rapid wing, 

Shall death command you to the grave; 


DEATH. 


503 


Before his bar your spirit bring, 

And none be found to hear, or save. 

Now God invites—how blest the day, 

How sweet the Gospel’s charming sound ; 
Come, sinners, haste ; oh, haste away, 
While yet a pardoning God is found. 


THE SOLEMNITY OF DEATH. 



BEt. JOHN H. BECK, A. B., MT. EATON, 0. 


JMONG THE varied changes of life, there is none 
so solemn as death which awaits us. Daily the dole¬ 
ful funeral knell admonishes us that our fellow-men 
are passing away from earth to “ that undiscovered 
country, from whose bourn no traveler returns.” 
It matters not in what we are engaged, or in what 
direction we incline our steps, the solemn thought 
that death is on our track, haunts us ever and 
anon. And because of the solemnity so naturally 
associated with it, many persons, like Voltaire, have vainly 
tried to banish it entirely from their minds. Death is in the 
land— 

“ He rides on ev’rv passing breeze, 

He lurks in ev’ry flower”— 


so that any attempt to exclude the thought from the mind 
will prove utterly futile. On every hand we see the vestiges 
of death, and are made to shudder at the awful desolation it 
has made. On land and water; at home and abroad; by night 
and by day, the arrows of death are flying swift and thick, caus¬ 
ing our fellow-men to fall on every hand, reminding us of the 
solemn fact, that soon we will be necessitated to follow, 
and be also numbered with the pale nations of the dead. 
Death reigns without a peer. None can evade his grasp. He 
is ruthless in the extreme, and mocks at human grief. Our 
sighs and entreaties he alike condemns, and lays our vaunted 
glory in the dust. He deprives us of our earthly joys, blights 
our cherished hopes, frustrates our plans, and what is still 










504 


DEATH. 


more appalling, severs the most endearing ties of nature and 
friendship. Now he enters a family and most relentlessly 
snatches away the father, upon whom a group of little children 
depend for their daily sustenance. And again, in quick succes¬ 
sion, the mother is taken by the same hand, and the helpless lit¬ 
tle ones are orphaned, and left to the mercy of strangers. The 
scene is solemn, but of every day occurence, now in this and 
then in that family, under similar or varied circumstances. 
Hence, however favorably we may be situated, and however 
dear the ties that bind us to earth and to each other, a sad 
and solemn change inevitably awaits us. In the now happily 
united family circle there will soon be a vacant place. The 
thought depresses our spirits and fills our hearts with sadness, 
but happen it will, for u as a leaf we all do fade.” 

Death is ever on the wing, circling over our heads and ready 
at any moment to claim us as his prey. All mankind, from 
the unconscious babe in its mother’s arms, to feeble and totter¬ 
ing old age, regardless of rank or condition, are alike exposed 
to its unrelenting grasp. The daring warriors, who led armies 
to battle, and made their names illustrious by their victories, 
had at last to share the fate of the common soldier. So also 
the cruel and arrogant monarchs of days gone by, who swayed 
empires, monopolized diplomatic honors, and devoted hun¬ 
dreds, yea, thousands of their subjects to death, had to submit 
to the same destiny, their royal-dust now mingling with that 
of the once cringing slave; their boasted splendor and power 
all buried beneath the sod of the valleys. In like manner the 
men equipped with forensic power, who, by means of their 
logic and oratory, influenced and determined the tide of 
nations, and challenged the admiration of the world, have 
met with the same end, for stern logic and thrilling eloquence 
have no power or influence over death. Very appropriately, 
therefore, is death styled the King of Terrors. As the wind 
drives the chaff, and the flame devours the stubble, so death 
makes sad havoc of the nations. Imagine the countless num¬ 
bers that have fallen upon the field of battle, far away from 
home and friends, where their bodies were buried without 
even a rude memorial to mark their silent abode, or were left 
to waste away, or be devoured by rapacious vultures, ever 
watchful for their prey. What countless millions have been 


DEATH. 


505 

carried away by various epidemics in every land and under 
every sky! And who can conceive of the appalling numbers 
that have fallen at the hand of the fell destroyer in ways more 
sad and under more pitiable circumstances, in consequence of 
which the world may be represented as one vast grave-yard. 
At every step we take, however cautious we may be, we tread 
upon the dust of those who once lived and occupied the very 
spot we call our home. And yet true as all this is, and famil¬ 
iar as we are with it, death loses none of its solemnity when 
it crosses the threshold of our own homes. There is also much 
around us to remind us of our frailty and destiny. We 
approach the ocean’s strand, and there behold the broken 
masts and other fragments of a wrecked vessel, carried and 
thrown by the waves promiscuously upon the beach. Or we 
look at the charred remains of a magnificent mansion, and 
unconsciously sigh at the disastrous result of the angry 
elements; but what is a wrecked vessel, or the charred 
remains of a mansion, in comparison with the dissolution of 
the intricately wrought mechanism of the human body ? 

We now turn to a very familiar, but solemn death scene. 
Behold that blooming youth, who with uprightness and alac¬ 
rity flits hither and thither, heedless and unconscious of any 
pending danger. Cheerful and sanguine with the brightest 
anticipations for the future, he is approximating manhood. 
But, lo, without any premonition whatever, an invisible hand 
seizes and prostrates him upon a couch* of intense suffering, 
where the rosy tinge of his cheeks soon changes; the once 
cheerful and smiling countenance assumes a haggard and 
ghastly expression; the eyes once bright and sparkling are 
thrown staringly back; the heart flutters in a menacing man¬ 
ner; the lips and tongue are parched; the voice hushed; and 
now after one more convulsive struggle, and another last, 
long gasp, the work is finished—life has become extinct. Oh, 
what sighs and tears the solemn scene occasions. The lifeless 
form of the once promising young man is now wrapped in a 
shroud, laid in a narrow coffin, and amidst weeping and 
lamentations is conveyed to the silent city of the dead, to be 
consigned to the grave. Who has not witnessed a scene like 
this, and whose heart has not heaved in consequence of it? 

It is also a suitable time for serious reflection. Standing 


33 


506 


DEATH. 


thus at the verge of the yawning grave, into which the 
remains of our dear departed have been deposited, we are 
most forcibly impressed with the solemn thought, that soon 
we too must die, and our dust mingle with theirs. How 
appropriate the lines : 

“Ye living men, come view the ground 

Where you must shortly lie.” 

In connection with the solemn scene another thought in¬ 
stinctively suggests itself to our minds: u If a man die, shall 
he live again?” It is a question which pious Job asked, as 
he looked upon the pale faces of his own dear dead, and felt 
that he himself was nearing his end. It is the question which 
millions have asked time and again, Is there not a single ray 
of hope left us, that the bodies of our dear departed friends, 
now deposited in the silent tomb, will ultimately rise again, 
as the grains of wheat and corn put forth a new life from 
beneath the soil ? Or is there not a probability of meeting 
our dear ones, who were so ruthlessly torn from our midst by 
death, in the spirit world and under a more propitious sky, 
where death will meet his peer and conqueror? These are 
questions which irresistibly suggest themselves to our minds, 
and for the solution of which nature remains silent. The most 
arrogant apostle of infidelity in our day, feigns to solve the 
problem by saying, “No, death ends all.” So Voltaire said 
and taught in his day. But alas, when too late, he awoke to 
a consciousness of his delusion, saying, “I have swallowed 
nothing but smoke. I have intoxicated myself with the 
incense that turned my head. I am mad, I cannot think of it 
without shuddering.” 

A voice clearer and stronger than infidelity breaks the 
silence of nature and declares, “There is hope.” It is the 
voice of the Prince of Life, who came from the Royal Courts 
of heaven and gained a most glorious victory over death and 
the grave, who assures us of a blessed immortality beyond the 
dark valley of death. To the two weeping sisters of Bethany, 
at their brother’s grave, Jesus said, “I am the Resurrection 
and the Life.” And what he there declared, he also demon¬ 
strated when he raised Lazarus from the dead. He is still the 
same Savior, for he changes not, and says as really and lov- 


DEATH. 


507 

ingly now to all anxiously inquiring minds, “ He that believ- 
eth in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” He has arched 
the heavens with the resplendent bow of promise, from which 
a halo of light is reflected even into the darkness of the grave, 
divesting it of its horror and making it the fit repository of 
our dust, till he shall finally bid it rise. 

“ The graves of all His saints He blessed, 

When in the grave He lay; 

And raising thence, their hopes he raised 
To everlasting da)'.” 


THE HOUR OF DEATH. 


L EAVES have their time to fall— 

And flowers to wither at the north-wind’s blast; 
And stars to set—but all, 

Thou hast all seasons for thine own, 0 Death. 

Day is for mortal care, 

Eve for glad meetings round the joyous hearth, 

Night for the dreams of sleep, the voice of prayer, 

But all for thee, thou mightiest of the earth. 

The banquet hath its hour— 

Its feverish hour of mirth, and song, and wine; 

There comes a day for grief, o’er whelming power, 

A tone for softer tears--but all are thine. 

Youth and the opening rose 
May look like things too glorious for decay, 

And smile at thee—but thou art not of those 
That wait the ripened bloom to seize their prey. 

We know when moons shall wane, 

And Summer birds from far shall cross the sea, 

When Autumn’s hue shall tinge the golden grain— 

But who shall teach us where to look for thee ? 

Is it where Spring’s first gale 
Comes forth to whisper where the violets lie ? 

Is it when roses in our path grow pale? 

They have one season—all are ours to die ! 





DEATH. 


Thou art where billows foam ; 

Thou art where music melts upon the air; 

Thou art round us in our peaceful home; 

And the world calls us forth, and thou art there. 

Thou art where friend meets friend, 

Beneath the shadow of the elm to rest; 

Thou art where foe meets foe, and trumpets rend 
The skies, and swords beat down the princely crest.” 

— Mrs. Hemans. 


ANSWER “ TO THE HOUR OF DEATH.” 


T RUE, all, we know must die, 

Though none can tell the exact appointed hour, 

Nor should it cost the virtuous heart a sigh, 

Whether death doth crush the oak, or nip the opening 
flower. 

The Christian is prepared 
Though others tremble at the hour of gloom; 

His soul is always ready, on his guard: 

His lamps are lighted, against the bridegroom come. 

It matters not the time 
When we shall end our pilgrimage below ; 

Whether in youth’s bright morn, or manhood’s prime, 

Or when the frost of age has whitened o’er our brow. 

The child! has blossomed fair, 

And looked so lovely on its mother’s breast; 

The source of many a hope and many a prayer. 

Why murmur, that it sleeps when all at last may rest ? 

Snatched from a world of woe, 

Where they must suffer most who longest dwell, 

It vanished like a flake of early snow 
That melts into the sea, pure as from heaven it fell. 

The youth whose pulse beats high, 

Eager through glory’s brilliant course to run. 

Why should we shed a tear or breathe a sigh, 

That the bright goal is gained—the prize thus early won ? 





DEATH. 


509 


Yes! all, we know must die, 

Since none can tell the exact appointed hour, 

Why need it cost the virtuous heart a sigh 
Whether death doth crush the oak, or nip the opening flower? 

— Mrs. Cornwall Baron Wilson. 


THE CERTAINTY OF HEATH. 


REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


EATH IS the common lot of all mankind. The 
rich and the poor, the young and the old, the 
bond and the free, are here all on a perfect level. 
Of all the millions that have lived during the suc¬ 
cessive generations that have come and gone, 
since the creation of man, we read of only two, 
Enoch and Elijah, who have escaped death. No 
amount of care, precaution, or medical skill can 
shield us from this destroyer, who lurks in every part of the 
habitable globe, waiting to carry off his prize. Methusela 
lived 969 years and died, as did all his long-lived cotem¬ 
poraries. There is no discharge in this war, for it is appointed 
unto all men once to die. 

The reason why all men die is because all have sinned. 
Had sin not entered into the world neither death nor any of 
the evils of life would have been felt or known. All would, 
in this case, have been happy, and would have lived for ever 
in perpetual youth, from which we may infer what a great 
and terrible evil sin is. 

View it in any light we may, death is a sad calamity, of 
which all have an instinctive dread. Yoltaire is said to have 
offered his physician one-half of his fortune if he would give 
him a release from death for six months. There are few who 
do not shrink from death with terror and dismay. Even the 
Christian, for whom death has lost its sting, is not indifferent 
to its approach, but views it with solemn earnestness. 
















510 


DEATH. 


There is reason why death should be thus shunned and 
dreaded. It is in itself a great evil, severing as it does the 
connection which exists between the soul and the body. For 
as soon as it occurs all the members or parts of the body cease 
to act and become motionless. The eye is set and loses its 
vivacity, the blood ceases to circulate, the pulse and heart 
stop beating, the hands and feet are motionless, the senses 
refuse to act, in short all is at an end as far as this world is 
concerned. The body becomes a corpse and is soon com¬ 
mitted to the grave, the house appointed for all the living. 
How sad to behold a wreck like this! There is no one who 
can look upon the lifeless remains of a fellow-mortal without 
a feeling of sadness. The very approach of death is affecting. 

Death also breaks up all the tender relations of life, and 
sunders the ties that bind parents and children, brothers and 
sisters, husband and wife in the tender bonds of affection, so 
that no one dies unlamented. Had Xerxes only thought of 
the sorrow and distress which the death of the five millions 
over whom his eye ranged as he sat upon his lofty throne, 
would occasion, this of itself was enough to cause him to 
weep as he did, knowing that they and he would all be dead 
in less than one hundred years. For who can count or estimate 
the sighs, the tears, the heart-throbs, the groans and distress 
occasioned by the death of five millions of mortals, bound by 
the ties of kindred and affection. And yet sad as the effects 
of death are the stern monster pursues his ravages with an 
unrelenting grasp, hurrying one generation away after another, 
as with a mighty flood. 

Seeing, therefore,* that death awaits us all we should pause 
amid the hurry and bustle of life, and ask ourselves what 
lessons a thought so solemn and affecting as this should teach 
us? The following suggest themselves to our minds: 

First, we should never lose sight of our mortality. Nothing 
is more common than for men to banish from their minds all 
thoughts of death in the day of prosperity and hilarity, hoping 
that to-morrow shall be as to-day. It was a wise precaution, 
therefore, on the part of the King of Persia, who had a ser¬ 
vant to come into his presence each day, repeating the solemn 
truth, “ Darius, remember thou art mortal.” O that we had 
eyes to read the same truth in the faded leaf, the withered 


DEATH. 511 

flower, the broken reed, the sudden deaths, and many changes 
that are ever and anon occuring all around us. 

Again, knowing as we do, that we must all die, we should 
be intent upon doing the work committed to our hands. Life 
is too short, and the work before us too great to stand idle all 
the day long. We should remember, 

“ Tis infamy to die and not be missed, 

Or let all soon forget that we did e’er exist.” 

Lastly, the certainty of death should teach us the impor¬ 
tance of making timely preparation for it. As the sentinel 
on the watchtower is always on the lookout for the approach 
of the enemy, that the city may be ready to defend itself, so 
we should, in like manner, always have our armor on, and be 
in a state of preparation, that when death comes, we are not 
found asleep at our post, but waiting to depart and be with 
Christ, which is far better. And knowing as we do how prone 
we are to lose sight of our end, our daily prayer should be, 

“ Waken, 0 Lord, our drowsy sense, 

To walk this dangerous road, 

That if our souls are hurried hence 
They may be found with God.” 


HOW TO DIE PEACEFULLY. 


S O LIVE that when thy summons comes to join 
That innumerable caravan that moves 
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 
His chamber in the silent halls of death, 

Thou go not like the quarry slave at night 
Scourged to his dungeon ; but sustained and sooth’d 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, 

Like one that draws the drapery of his couch 
Around him and lies down to pleasant dreams. 

— W. C. Bryant. 





A CALM AND PEACEFUL DEATH. 



ANY ARE the evidences of the calm and peaceful 
death of the righteous. . The following instance 
must suffice for our present purpose. Mrs. Anna 
Leonard, wife of Henry Leonard, Basil, Ohio, after 
a long and painful illness, called her son to her 
bedside, a few days before her death, and requested 
him to write the following lines which she had, in 
all probability committed in her earlier years, as expressive 
of her feelings in the near approach of death. As the hymn is 
not to be found in any hvmn-books, to which we have had 
access, we publish it as a proof of the calm and peaceful 
frame of mind in which a Christian can meet death, and in 
the belief that it will, be read with interest by many, besides 
the friends of the deceased. 


“ My warfare here will soon be o’er, 
My strugglings will be past; 

And I shall pant and groan no more, 
But be relieved at last. 


I soon shall breathe my latest breath, 
And see an end to pain ; 

Therefore, I would submit to death— 
For I shall live again. 

Sure, I can never be deceived 
By him who died for me, 

By him I was from death reprieved, 
And set at liberty. 

Not all the powers of sin and death 
Against me can prevail, 

Nor all the force of hell beneath, 
Shall cause his word to fail. 


But, O ! My Savior bears me through— 
Still keeps my faith alive; 

Helps me to keep the prize in view, 

Till I in heav’n arrive. 




























































































THE LAST HOUR. 


REV. E. R. WILLI ARD, A. M., GERMANTOWN, OHIO. 


“ Truth is deposited with man’s last hour— 
An honest hour, and faithful to her trust.” 


“The tongues of dying men 
Enforce attention, like deep harmony; 

Where words are scarce, they’re seldom spent in vain; 

For, they breathe truth, that breathe their words in pain.” 

— Shakespeare. 

N THE walls of the famous Delphic Temple of 
ancient Greece, was this inscription: “Consider 
the end!” It is said that Chilo, one of the Seven 
Wise Men of Greece, was the author of it. 

“ Death is a friend of ours ; and he, that is not 
ready to entertain him, is not at home .”—Lord Bacon. 

“ Death is a black camel, which kneels at the gates of all.”— 
Abd-el-Kader. 



THE LAST SAYINGS OF CHRISTIANS. 


Stephen, the first Christian martyr, stoned to death, A. D. 
37: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, a martyr for Christ, A. D. 116. 
This devoted man of God was sentenced to be torn to death 
by wild beast. Looking at such an awful death, he neverthe¬ 
less could write to his Christian friends in Rome: “Now I 
begin to be a disciple; nor shall anything move me, whether 
visible or invisible, that I may attain to Christ Jesus. Let fire 
and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking 
of bones and tearing of members, let the shattering in pieces 
of the whole body, and all the wicked torments of the devil, 
come upon me,—only let me enjoy Jesus Christ. All the ends 
of the world and the kingdoms of it, will profit me nothing; I 
would rather die for Jesus Christ than rule to the utmost ends 
of the earth. Him I seek who died for us ; Him I desire who 
rose again for us. This is the gain that is laid up for me—my 
love is crucified.” 








DEATH. 


514 

Polycarp, another of the early martyrs, was put to death 
A. D., 166, at the age of ninety-five years. When taken to 
the place of his execution, he was asked to recant, and was 
promised life and liberty if he would reproach Christ. “ Eighty 
and six years have I served him,” replied the aged Christian 
hero, u during all which time he never did me injury; how, 
then, can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” Being 
tortured with the threat of being thrown to the wild beasts, 
“ Let them come on,” cried Polycarp, u we Christians are not 
accustomed to change from better to worse, but from bad to 
better.” 

Chrysostom, the silver-tongued orator of the early church, 
died Semptember 14th, 407: “ Glory to God for all things. 
Amen.” 

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, died August 28th, A. D. 430: 
u Thy will be done. Come, Lord Jesus!” 

Bede, the venerable English monk, died A. D. 735, aged 63 
years: “ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the 
Holy Ghost.” 

Ulric Zwingle, the heroic Swiss reformer of the Sixteenth 
century, was mortally wounded on the battle field, October 
11th, 1531, aged about forty-seven years. On receiving his 
death-wound he was heard to say: “ Can this be considered a 
calamity? Well, they can indeed kill the body, but they are 
not able to kill the soul.” 

Martin Luther, the great German reformer of the Sixteenth 
century, died February 18th, 1545, aged sixty-two years: “ O, 
my heavenly Father, my eternal and everlasting God ! Thou 
hast revealed to me thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ! I have 
preached him! I have confessed him! I love him, and I 
worship him as my dearest Saviour and Redeemer—him whom 
the wicked persecute, accuse and blaspheme.” He then 
repeated thrice the words of the Psalmist, u Into thy hands I 
commit my spirit,” and calmly died. 

Philip Melancthon, died April 19th, 1560, aged sixty-three 
years. Being asked on his death bed by his son-in-law if he 
wanted anything, he answered touchingly, u Nothing else but 
heaven!” 

Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer, two English Bishops 
and martyrs, who were put to death at Oxford, October 15th, 


DEATH. 


515 

1555. When Ridley saw Latimer descending to the spot of 
execution, he ran and embraced him, saying: “ Be of good 
heart, brother, for God will either assuage the fury of the 
flames, or else give us strength to endure them.” Latimer 
replied, “We shall this day, brother, light such a candle in 
England as, by God’s grace, shall never be put out.” 

Lord Bacon, the great English philosopher, died April 9th, 
1626, uses these touching words in his last will: “ First I 
bequeath my soul and body into the hands of God by the 
blessed oblation of my Savior; the one at the.time of my 
dissolution, the other at the time of my resurrection.” 

Sir John Mason, one of the most celebrated English jurists, 
that ever lived, died in 1566, aged sixty-three years : “ I have 
lived to see five sovereigns, and have been privy-counsellor to 
four of them. I have seen the most remarkable things in 
foreign parts, and have been present at most state transac¬ 
tions, for the last thirty years; and I have learned, from the 
experience of so many years, that seriousness is the greatest 
wisdom, temperance the best physic, and a good conscience 
the best estate. And were I to live again, I would change the 
court for the cloister, my privy-counsellor’s bustle for a 
hermit’s retirement, and the whole life 1 have lived in the 
palace for an hour’s enjoyment of God in the chapel. All 
things now forsake me, except my God, my duty, and my 
prayer.” 

William Shakespeare, the world-famous poet, when the eye 
that had ranged through nature, was lifted into the heavens, 
wrote in his will: “ I commend my soul into the hands of 
God, my Creator; hoping and assuredly believing through 
the only merits of Jesus Christ, my Savior, to be made par¬ 
taker of life everlasting.” 

Jacob Boehme, the pious German mystic, died in 1624, aged 
forty-nine years : “Now I go hence into paradise.” 

John Elliott, the great Apostle to the Indians, died May 
20th, 1690, aged eighty-six years. His companion at last was 
a young Indian, whom he had taught to read the Bible to him. 
Among his last words were these: “ 0, come in glory ! I have 
long waited for thy coming!” and his dying whisper of triumph 
was, u Welcome joy!” 

Richard Baxter, died December 8th, 1691, aged seventy-six 


516 


DEATH. 


years. The day before he died, he said: “ I have pain—there 
is no arguing against sense—but I have peace.” 

Mathew Henry, the eminent Bible commentator, died June 
22d, 1714, aged fifty-two years. On his death-bed he said to 
his friend, Mr. Illidge : u You have been used to take notice of 
the sayings of dying men. This is mine. A life spent in the 
service of God, and in communion with him, is the most com¬ 
fortable and pleasant life that anyone can live in this world.” 

Joseph Addison, died June 17th, 1719, aged forty-nine years. 
Just before his decease, lie sent for his step-son, Lord War¬ 
wick, an accomplished but dissolute youth. Addison had 
long, but unsuccessfully, endeavored to reclaim him, and one 
effort more^remained to be tried. Warwick came and said, 
u My dear sir, you sent for me ; I believe and hope you have 
some commands; I shall hold them most dear.” Addison, 
grasping his hand, softly said, “ See in what peace a Christian 
can die!” 

David Brainard, the great missionary to the Indians, died 
October 9th, 1747, aged twenty : nine years : u I am almost in 
eternity. I long to be there. My work is done. I have done 
with all my friends. All the world is now nothing to me. O 
to be in heaven!—to praise and glorify God, with his holy 
angels!” 

Bishop Butler, the author of the famous u Analogy,” died 
June 16th, 1752. On his death-bed his chaplain comforted him 
by saying, “ It is written, him that cometh unto me, I will in 
no wise cast out.” Meditating a little while, Bishop Butler 
replied, u I have often read and thought of that Scripture, but 
never till this moment did I feel its full power, and now I die 
happy.” 

Bev. Augustus Montague Toplady, died 1775, aged thirty- 
five. In his last moments he exclaimed: “ 0, what delight! 
Who can fathom the joy of the third heaven ? The sky is 
clear. There is no cloud. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!” 

Bev. William BoMAiNE,died July 28,1795, aged eighty-one. 
When near his departure, he exclaimed : u Holy, holy, holy 
Lord God Almighty! Glory be to thee on high, for such peace 
on earth and good will to men! I have the peace of .God in 
my heart! I knew, before, the doctrines I preached to be 
truths, but now I experience them to be blessings. Jesus is 


DEATH. 517 

more precious than rubies, and all that can be desired on .earth 
is not to be compared with him.” 

Fisher Ames, the orator and statesman, died July 4,1808, 
aged fifty years: “ I have peace of mind. It may arise from 
stupidity, but I think it is founded on a belief of the gospel. 
My hope is in the mercy of God, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ.” 

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, died March 2,1791, 
aged eighty-eight years: “The best of all is, God is with usP 

Timothy Dwight, D. D., president of Yale College, died 
January 11, 1817, aged sixty-five years. His last words were 
in reference to the eighth chapter of Romans, and the seven¬ 
teenth chapter of St. John, which, at his request, had been read 
to him: “ 0, what triumphant truths !” 

Edward Payson, D. D., died October 2,1827, aged forty-four 
years: “A young man, just about to leave this world, exclaimed, 
* The battle’s fought! the battle’s fought! the battle ’s fought!. 
but the victory is lost forever!’ But I can say, ‘The battle’s 
fought, and the victory is won! the victory is won forever!’ 
I am going to bathe in an ocean of purity and benevolence 
and happiness, to all eternity.” Again Payson exclaimed: 
“ The celestial city is full in view—its glories beam upon me 
—its breezes fan me—its odors are wafted to me; its music 
strikes upon my ear, and its spirit breathes into my heart; 
nothing separates me from it but the river of death, which 
now appears as a narrow rill, which may be crossed at a single 
step, whenever God shall give permission.” Payson also 
directed that a label should be placed upon his breast, when 
he should be dead, upon which was to be written: “Remem¬ 
ber the words, which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with 
you.” 

Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of the American con¬ 
tinent: “Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” 

George Washington, died December 14th, 1799, aged nearly 
sixty-eight years: u ’Tis well.” 

Lord Nelson, the celebrated English naval officer: “Thank 
God, I have done my duty.” 

Thomas Jefferson, died July 4th, 1826: “ I resign my soul 
to God, and my daughter to my country.” 

Frederick Sciiliermacher, the great German theologian, 


518 


DEATH. 


died February 12th, 1834, aired sixty-six years. To his wife he 
said: u My dear, I seem to be really in a state, which hovers 
between consciousness and unconsciousness; but, in my soul, 
I experience the most delightful moments. I must ever be in 
deep speculations, but they are united with the deepest relig¬ 
ious feelings.” 

Daniel Webster, perhaps the greatest of all American 
orators and statesmen, died October 24th, 1852. Nine days 
before his death he dictated and signed with his own hand 
this declaration of his religious faith : u Lord, I believe ; help 
thou mine unbelief.” Philosophical argument, especially that 
drawn from the vastness of the universe in comparison with 
the apparent insignificance of this globe, has sometimes shaken 
my reason for the faith that is in me; but my heart has 
assured, and re-assured me, that the gospel of Jesus Christ 
must be a divine reality. The sermon on the Mount cannot 
be a merely human, production. This belief enters into the 
very depth of my conscience. The whole history of man 
proves it.” The evening before he died, only seven or eight 
hours before the great man breathed his last, he said among 
other things : “ The great mystery of Jesus Christ—the gospel. 
What would be the condition of any of us, if we had not the 
hope of immortality! What ground is there to rest upon but 
the gospel ? But, thank God, the gospel of Jesus Christ brought 
life and immortality to light—rescued it—brought it to light.” 
Webster’s dying prayer was very tender and touching: 
“ Heaventy Father, forgive my sins and receive me to thyself 
through Jesus Christ.” His last utterance was: “I still live.” 

Kev. Dr. Joseph P. Thompson, United States minister to 
Germany under President R. B. Hayes, and a distinguished 
author, died about 1880. On his death-bed he heard that his 
memorial to the Emperor of Austria in behalf of the perse¬ 
cuted Protestants of that empire, had been adopted by the 
World’s Evangelical Alliance at Basle, Switzerland, he looked 
down at his hand, that had been paralyzed for months, and 
exclaimed: “Given one more stroke for liberty with this 
right hand.” 

Senator Foote, of Vermont, a distinguished United States 
Senator during the war: “ I have been thinking much of these 
two lines,” said the dying Senator: 


DEATH. 


519 


“ Here, Lord, I give myself away: 

’Tis all that I can do.” 

I begin to understand that this comprehends all; and I am 
beginning to lean alone on Jesus Christ as my Savior and 
friend.” At the last ebb of his life, with his hands uplifted, 
he raised his eyes heavenward, and exclaimed : u I see it, I 
see it! The gates are wide open! Beautiful! Beautiful!” 

Rev. John Reese, of London, England: “ Christ in his per¬ 
son, Christ in the love of his heart, and Christ in the power of 
his arm, is the rock on which I rest; and now, death, strike!” 

Said a certain Dying Christian in the poor-house to a 
minister at his bed-side: “O, sir! I was just thinking what a 
ohange it would be from the poor-house to heaven!” 


LAST SAYINGS OF WORLDLY-MINDED MEN. 

Thomas Woolsey, the celebrated English Cardinal, died 
November 29th, 1530, aged fifty-nine years. A reverse in his 
worldly fortunes and in his relations to the king, prompted 
him to this sad confession a short time before his death : u Had 
I but served my God as diligently as I have served my king, 
he would not have forsaken me now in my gray hairs. But 
this is the just reward that I must receive for my incessant 
pains and study, not regarding my service to my God, but only 
to my prince.” 

Hugo Grotius, one of the most learned men the world has 
known, died in August, 1645, aged sixty-two years. “ I would 
give all my learning and honor for the plain integrity of John 
Urick.” This man Urick was a poor man, but very pious. 

The learned Selden, who was almost equally renowned for 
his erudition, testified at life’s close: “ I have taken great 
pains to know everything worth knowing; but, after all my 
reading and questioning, there remains to comfort me one 
single text: This is a faithful saying and worthy of all accep¬ 
tation that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” 

Salmasius, one of the most distinguished scholars of the 
the seventeenth century, said, as he looked back on his life 
near its close: “ Oh! I have lost a world of time—time, the 
most precious thing in the world! Had 1 but one year more, 
it should be spent in reading Da vid’s psalms and Paul’s epistles! 



DEATH. 


520 

0! sirs,” he exclaimed to those about him, u mind the world 
less, and God more!” 

Cardinal Mazarine, who attained the very highest place of 
honor and power in France next to the throne, in the middle 
of the seventeenth century. A short time before his death, 
while yet able to walk with much exertion, a friend saw him 
tottering along in his art gallery, to whom Mazarine said: 
“Must I quit all these? Look at that Correggio! This Venus 
of Titian! That incomparable deluge of Carraci! Ah ! My 
friend, I must quit all these. Farewell, dear pictures, that I 
love so dearly and that cost me so much.” When still nearer 
death, he uttered these words: u O, my poor soul! What will 
become of thee ? Whither wilt thou go ? O, were I permitted 
to live again, I would sooner be the humblest wretch in the 
ranks of mendicants than a courtier!” 

Meissonnier, a most famous French athlete, carried his love 
and absorbing thoughts of physical contest even down to his 
last hour, exclaiming: “ 0 death, if you were a man, what 
short work I’d make of you!” 

Louis XV., of France, one of the most vain and worldly- 
minded monarchs that ever reigned, said sadly, when he 
realized he must soon die: “ I would fain die as a Christian* 
and not as an infidel.” 

Mirareau, the great Frenchman: “ Music! Let me die to the 
sound of delicious music!” 

Lord Chesterfield, whose ruling passion for matters of 
etiquette was strong even in death, called out with his last 
breath: “ Give Dayroles a chair!” 

Rachel, the French actress : “And must I part with these 
so soon?” (She referred to her costly jewels.) 


LAST SAYINGS OF INFIDELS. 

The dying infidel, Wilmot, laid his pale and emaciated hand 
on the Bible and said: “The only objection against that book 
is a bad life.” 

Thomas Hobbes, one of the foremost philosophers of Eng¬ 
land in the middle of the eighteenth century. At the advanced 
age of ninety-one years, he hopelessly confessed: “lam about 
taking a fearful leap into the dark;” and when his physician 



DEATH. 


521 


told him during his last illness that there was no hope of a 
cure for him, he said: u Then I shall be glad to find a hole to 
creep out of the world at.” 

Voltaire, one of the most brilliant and notorious of the 
world’s infidels, died in Paris, France, May 30th, 1778, aged 
eighty-four years. And yet so inconsistent was he in religious 
things, that he spent his manhood’s life within the pale of the 
Roman Catholic Church, and often took the Holy Communion. 
I)r. Trochin, who had been called to the dying man, found him 
exclaiming, with the utmost horror: u I am abandoned by God 
and man! I will give you,” said he to the doctor, u half of 
what I am worth, if you will give me six months’ life.” The 
doctor replied: “ Sir, you cannot live six weeks.” “ Then I 
shall go to hell,” said Voltaire, “and you will go with me.” 

Altamont, the notorious infidel, is affirmed by Dr. Young to 
have said to him, only the evening before his death: “ Remorse 
for the past throws my thought on the future. Worse dread 
of the future strikes it back on the past. I turn and turn, and 
find no ray. Didst thou feel half the mountain that is on me, 
thou wouldst struggle with the martyr for his stake, and bless 
heaven for the flames; that is not an everlasting flame ; that 
is not an unquenchable fire. My principles have poisoned my 
friends! My extravagance has beggared my boy! My unkind¬ 
ness has murdered my wife ! And is there another hell ? O ! 
thou blasphemed yet indulgent Lord God! Hell itself is a 
refuge, if it hide me from thy frown!” 

Thomas Paine, the American infidel, died June 8th, 1809, 
aged seventy-two years. During his last illness he was fre¬ 
quently heard to exclaim, “Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ.” But it 
is doubtful as to whether he did it in blasphemy or remorse¬ 
ful repentance. His nurse repeated some of the expressions 
he was accustomed to utter in his paroxysms of distress. u 0 
Lord, help me! Christ, help me! 0 God, what have I done 
to suffer so much ? But there is no God!—but if there should 
be, what will become of me hereafter? Stay with me, for 
God’s sake, for I cannot bear to be left alone! Send even a 
child to stay with me, for it is a hell to be alone!” 

John Randolph, of Roanoke, a famous statesman and orator 
in the American revolutionary times. “ Remorse ” he called 


34 


522 


DEATH. 


three times; then had it written for him twice, and even 
underscored. u Ah!”, said the dying man, u remorse—you 
don’t know what it means! You don’t know what it means!” 
But added, “I cast myself on the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy.” 


THE DEATH-BED. 


W E watched her breathing through the night— 
Her breathing soft and low, 

As in her breast the wave of life 
Kept heaving to and fro. 

So silently we seemed to speak 
So slowly moved about 
As we had lent her half our powers. 

To eke her living out. 

Our weary hopes belied our fears, 

Our fears, our hopes belied— 

We thought her dying when she slept, 

And sleeping when she died. 

For when the morn came, dim and sad, 

And chill with early showers, 

Her quiet eyelids closed—she had 
Another morn than ours. 


—Thomas Hood. 










DEATH-BED REPENTANCE. 


REV. M. H. GROH, B. A., NEW LISBON, 0. 

AID AN unbeliever, u I have provided, in the 
course of my life, for everything but death, and 
now, alas! I am to die, although entirely unpre¬ 
pared.” A death-bed prayer! It is like the shriek 
of a man suddenly overcome by flames. In the 
history of four thousand years, contained in the 
Bible, we read of but one dying impenitent, who 
was converted and actually saved in the last hour 
of his life. Multitudes will thank God, to the end of time, for 
the story of the penitent thief on the cross. This only narra¬ 
tive of its kind was graciously written, and transmitted to 
future generations, that no sinner might ever despair, and 
likewise that no sinner might ever presume. However, the 
dying malefactor is an extraordinary instance of an extraordi¬ 
nary conversion, at an extraordinary time. It was an hour of 
prodigies. It was an exceptional day, of exceptional events. 
Never, again, will the world see another such a day. The 
atrocities of Calvary will never be repeated. Were Christ 
again to die the death of the cross, and two thieves again cru¬ 
cified with him, then might there be reason to hope for another 
such a royal pardon by our Savior-King. But there is no 
need of a similar miraculous conversion, now that his Messiah- 
ship and the soverignty of his forgiving grace have been so 
gloriously attested. It is an example of what God can do, 
but it is an example without promise. And yet it is to be 
feared that every year thousands go out of the world with a lie 
in their right hand. They look at the broad fact that he was 
saved, and so fancy that they, too, will be saved. They over¬ 
look the essential condition in the case. To be saved as he 
was saved, the seeking soul must believe as he believed, and 
repent as he repented. To obtain a like passport to paradise, 
with the dying thief, there must be the utterance of a like 
faith, the feeling of alike sense of guilt, the acknowledgement 
of a like power to save, and the fervency of a like prayer. 








524 


DEATH. 


The world-famous Boston lecturer, Joseph Cook, when 
speaking of Webster’s death, took occasion to make this cau¬ 
tionary remark: “A death-bed repentance is never to be en¬ 
couraged before the time, nor discouraged at the time.” All 
Christians accept this statement. It would be folly to cir¬ 
cumscribe the bounties of the divine compassion. No mortal 
can tell what God may be ready to do in the hush of the 
dying chamber. Equally wrong would it be to deny the pos¬ 
sibility of a death-bed change. But it must ever remain ex¬ 
tremely hazardous to expose the hope and success of such a 
change to a death-bed contingency. The various forms of 
death, sudden and otherwise, and distracting pain, loss of 
mental power, unfavorable conditions of mind and body, 
which so often characterize dying moments, are either the 
sealing up of all hope or render the dying one incapable of 
handling or using the means of hope. Certain it is that the 
moral opportunities of life are superior to those of death 
near at hand, and the impenitent assumes an awful risk by 
the dreamy speculation that one dying glance at the Savior 
may repair the reckless waste. Indeed, nothing, on general 
principles, is so thoroughly unsatisfactory as a death-bed re¬ 
pentance. While true repentance is never too late, still a late 
repentance is seldom true. A city missionary once kept a 
careful record of two thousand impenitents who were sup¬ 
posed to be on their death-bed, and whom, had they died, he 
would have put down as converted persons. The result was 
so disappointing that it almost staggers belief to hear the sor¬ 
rowful tale. One , positively only one, afterwards gave evi¬ 
dence of a repentance that needed not to be repented of. 
Perhaps, this was an exceptional inventory, nor may it justly 
serve to determine the real average of genuine death-bed 
conversions. But judging from the experience of those w T ho 
closely study human character in its great moral crises, it may 
be safe to estimate that probably only seventy out of one 
thousand, who repent in view of death near at hand, show by 
their lives, when delivered from the fear of death, that their 
repentance was true and trustworthy. Moreover, the possi¬ 
bility and the probability of an effectual death-bed repen¬ 
tance correspondingly decrease as the unrepentant one is 
more or less advanced in years. At least, to all outward 


DEATH. 


525 


appearance, most men of middle age and past seem to die as 
they lived. Sick-bed penitence is too apt to be a sick-bed 
delusion. Remove the pressure, and too often, alas! it proves 
itself to have been a coin of spurious metal, unhonored and 
rejected in the mint of heaven. 

An additional, necessarj^ caution must here be given in 
order to guard the impenitent against the presumption and 
peril of postponing surrender to God until the closing scenes 
of life. There was no day of grace for us before we were 
born, and their will be no day of grace for us after we are 
dead. The siren gospel of Liberalism teaches the doctrine of 
u another chance ” after death. This theory is arrogant, un- 
philosophical, unscriptural. The fascinating fiction of u a 
probation after death ” is very congenial to such who would 
do in this life just as they please and after the stream is 
crossed make Christ the scapegoat to bear their sins, the slave 
to work for their exaltation and the unthanked servant to go 
before and open a way of escape from deserved condemna¬ 
tion. It does seem as if men who are not willing to use the 
chances of the life that now is, are not worth saving at all 
upon a u second chance” in the life to come. No! the offer 
of salvation does not extend beyond the present world. And 
it is even quite possible for the offers of salvation to termin¬ 
ate before life terminates. In such an event a death-bed re¬ 
pentance is hopelessly unavailing. Where there has been 
long and persistent resistance of grace, a persevering with¬ 
standing of the influences and impulses of the Spirit of God, 
a habitual fighting away of duty and conviction, there is 
great danger, indeed a strong probability, of bringing on a 
state of callousness and incapacitation, which puts the offen¬ 
der beyond the susceptibility of salvation. The sinner can 
bring himself into a permanent dissimilarity with God and 
practically end his probation before the time of his death. 
For such there is no room for repentance. In such, the 
advances of grace no longer waken the requisite response. 
There comes, in every one’s history, a moment of spiritual 
crisis, a final turning point, when, once for all, the way the 
man moves, settles his destiny forever. While we cannot 
arbitrarily fix this point at any given stage within time, yet 
there eventually comes to every one such a final moment of 


526 


DEATH. 


decision which is beyond recall. Should such a one seek re¬ 
pentance on his death-bed, yet is he so indurated in his line 
of evil choice, and his moral sense so blunted and indistinct, 
and his moral feeling so spasmodic and powerless, that a real 
resistance to sin is impossible. This is no new doctrine. The 
voice of conscience and the voice of Scripture concur in this 
startling conclusion. What remains to excuse the presump¬ 
tion of a sinner, in view of these statements, who counts on 
the certainty of a death-bed repentance, when, already, his 
day of grace may be past, even before he reaches the summit 
of transition? 

Alas, alas, for a soul sinking beneath the waves, with an 
uncertain hope of rescue ! A creature made in the image of 
God, prepared for God, on its way to God, foundered in the 
harbor and stranded in sight of the golden city! A star of 
the morning, meant for celestial shining, eclipsed and shrouded 
in the blackness of darkness forever? O the depths, the 
depths! of such a doom! 


THE FATHER’S DEATH. 


T HE last day of my earthly pilgrimage was closing, 

And the end was peace. * * * My children knelt 
Around my bed—our latest family prayer. 

Listen ! It is eleven striking. 

Then I w T hispered to my wife : The time is short, 

I hear the Spirit and the Bride say, “ Come.” 

And Jesus answering, “ I come quickly.” Listen! 

And as she wiped the death dews from my brow, 

She faltered. He is very near! ” And I 
Could faintly say, “ Amen, amen ! ” 

And then my power of utterance was gone; 

I beckoned, and was speechless. I was 
More than ankle deep in Jordan’s icy stream. 

My children stood upon its utmost verge, 

Gazing imploringly, persuasively. 

While the words “ Dear, dear father,” now and then 
Would drop, like dew, from their unconscious lips, 

My gentle wife, with love stronger than death, 

Was leaning over those cold, gentle waves. 





DEATH. 


52T 


I heard them speaking, but could make no sign; 

I saw them weeping, but could shed no tear; 

I felt their touch upon my flickering pulse. 

Their breath upon my cheek, but I could give 
No answering pressure to the fond hands pressed 
In mine. So rapidly the river-bed 
Shelved downward. 1 had pass’d, or almost pass’d 
Beyond the interchange of loving signs, 

Into the very world of love itself. 

The waters were above my knees; they wash’d 
My loins, and still they deepen’d. Unawares, 

I saw, I listen’d—“ Who is he who speaks ”— 

A Presence and a Voice. That Presence moved 

Beside me like a cloud of glory; and 

That Voice was like a silver trumpet, saying: 

“ Be of good comfort! It is I! Fear not! ’ ’ 

And whether now the waters were less deep, 

Or I was borne on invisible arms, 

I know not; but methought my mortal robes, 

Now only, brushed the smoothly gliding stream. 

And, like the edges of a sunset cloud, 

The beatific land before me lay. 

One long, last look behind me ; gradually 
The figures faded on the shore of time. 

And, as the bell of midnight struck— 

One sob, one effort, and my spirit was free.” 

— Bickersteth . 


DEATH OF MOTHER. 


REV. E. M. BECK, B. A., MARSH ALL VILLE, 0. 


MONG THE experiences of men there is none so 
great and appalling as death. We may look with 
comparative indifference upon the affliction of 
others, but when the fluttering wing of the Angel 
of Death is heard in our home, and we must lay 
one that is near and dear to us into the narrow 
charnel-house, the cordials of the world cannot 
allay our sorrows, the laughter of the giddy and gay only 
rasp our feelings, whilst empty words are as light as smoke. 
Ruthless death! he asks not for his prey. He reaches forth 












528 


DEATH. 


his ghastly hand and in his grasp holds all that is dust. The 
opening flower, which apparently budded only to die, left an 
aroma of* sweetness and gentleness behind, and went to greet 
and cheer the heavenly home. If this is true, the reaper may 
not be expected to pass by the ripened grain. Our mother , 
too , is dead. The heart is sore, the eyes are wet. With min¬ 
gled doubt and hope we look for consolation. Is she now dead 
—forever dead—she who gave us birth ? Can it be possible 
that the soul which gave so many evidences of love is now 
utterly extinct ? There is no consolation in such a thought. 
That cuts the wound still deeper. With God’s servant Job 
we cry, u If a man die, shall he live again ? ” We turn to hear 
an answer. We lend our ear a moment to the world, and 
amidst the din of business is heard an ever steady march 
toward death. We turn to heathen sages, who long ago have 
passed away; they reasoned about a future life. We turn to 
the inspired word and read the gladsome news, which dispels 
all doubt and gloom. That word has not yet spent its force, 
nor will its force be spent throughout the ages. From East to 
West, from pole to pole the gladdening word is heard. Jesus 
says: u I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth 
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” 

Assured of this hidden life, Montgomery sings: 

“ The dead are like the stars, by day 
Withdrawn from mortal eye, 

But not extinct, they hold their way 
In glory through the sky: 

Spirits from bondage thus set free, 

Vanish amidst immensity; 

Where human thought, like human sight, 

Fails to pursue their trackless flight.” 

Still the heart is sad, mother is gone and will not return. 
Those eyes, which were first to see her children’s wants, which 
refused slumber when their bodies burned with fever, and 
their heads were racked with pain—are now closed in death. 
The feet, which were most ready to run to the deliverance of 
her children when in danger—are motionless and still. The 
hands most ready to minister to their wants, which were 
employed alike in their correction and comfort—are cold and 
stiff. The heart, which throbbed with love and maternal pride, 


DEATH. 


529 

which was open alike to her children’s sorrows and joys—that 
fleshly heart will beat no more. How very sad the thought! 
The only consolation is that which the Christian religion 
affords, and this dark hour needs it all. Avaunt, the wretch 
who would rob me of my only solace! 

Now, that she is gone, we feel our loss. No person on earth 
can fill her place. When she was yet the light and queen of 
home, oblivious of her worth, we often caused her pain. Now 
a mother’s smile or a mother’s sympathizing tear would lighten 
many a burden and give encouragement to face the ills of life. 
When she was ours, we often disobeyed, as children will; and 
preferred our plans and schemes to hers. Now, looking back 
with eyes of riper years, we see her wisdom and her love. But 
one thing still remains, the impressions of the past. Think 
you it possible to forget a mother’s loving counsels. Nay, were 
it possible to forget a mother’s face, her precepts never. They 
are stamped into the soul. A saintly mission hers, to fold her 
children’s little hands and teach them lisp the precious name 
of Jesus! In erring youth a mother’s ardent prayer does more 
to turn the tide of sin than that of any other mortal. Those 
fervent words ring in our ears and echo in the heart with a 
resonance unknown to natural law. Forget her? Never! 

Called away from the shores of time, her abode is now 
eternal. Her sacred dust we lay into the tomb; may angels 
guard it until the resurrection morn. 

“ Peaceful be thy silent slumber— 

Peaceful in the grave so low : 

Thou no more will join our number; 

Thou no more our songs shalt know. 

Yet again we hope to meet thee 
When the day of life is fled; 

Then in heaven with joy to greet thee, 

Where no farewell tear is shed.” 


530 


DEATH. 


THE YOUNG MOTHER’S DEATH. 


W E gathered round her bed, and bent our knees, 
In fervent supplication to the Throne 
Of Mercy, and perfumed our prayers with sighs 
Sincere, and penitential tears, and looks 
Of self-abasement; but we sought to stay, 

An angel on the earth, a spirit ripe 

For heaven ; and mercy, in her love, refused; 

Most merciful, as oft, when seeming least; 

Most gracious when she seemed the most to frown; 

The room I well remember, and the bed 
On which she lay, and all the faces, too, 

That crowded dark and mournfully around 
Her father there, and mother, bending, stood; 

And down their aged cheeks fell many drops 
Of bitterness. Her husband, too, was there, 

And brothers, and they wept; her sisters, too, 

Did weep and sorrow, comfortless; and I 
Too wept, though not to weeping given; and all 
Within the house was dolorous and sad. 

This I remember well; but better still 
I do remember, and will ne’er forget 
The dying eye. That eye alone was bright, 

And brighter grew as nearer death approached ; 

As I have seen the gentle little flower 

Look fairest in the silver beam.which fell 

Reflected from the thunder cloud, that soon 

Come down, and o’er the desert scattered far 

And wide its loveliness. She made a sign 

To bring her babe—’twas brought, and by her placed, 

She looked upon its face, that neither smiled 

Nor wept, nor knew w T ho gazed upon ’t; and laid 

Her hand upon its little breast, and sought 

For it, with look that seemed to penetrate 

The heavens, unutterable blessings, such 

As God to dying parents only granted, 

For infants left behind them in the world. 

“ God, keep my child! ” we heard her say, and heard 
No more. The angel of the Covenant 
Was come, and, faithful to his promise, stood 
Prepared to w'alk with her through death’s dark vale. 
And now her eyes grew bright, and brighter still, 

Too bright for ours to look upon, suffused 
With many tears, and closed without a cloud 



DEATH. 


531 


They set, as sets the morning star, which goes 
Not down behind the darkened west, nor hides 
Obscured among the tempests of the sky, 

But melts away into the light of heaven.” 

—Robert Pollock. 


THE HEATH OF CHILDREN. 


E ARE few unbroken families. There may be 
■s through which the circle remains whole, but 
ter or later there is a vacant place. 

“There is no flock, however watched and tended. 

But one dead lamb is there ! 

There is no fireside, howsoe’er defended, 

But has one vacant chair.” 

We press our children to our bosom to-day, and love builds 
up in our hearts a thousand brilliant hopes for them ; then, 
to-morrow, death comes, and they lie silent and still amid the 
flowers. Or we watch over them, and see them grow up into 
nobleness and beauty, when, just as our dreams and hopes 
seem about to be realized, the fatal touch is upon them, and 
they are taken away. 

One comfort in the time of such bereavement is that it is 
God’s will. Long ago this was the rock on which a godly 
father leaned when death had come suddenly and taken all: 
“ The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.” When we 
know that God truly is our father, and that his love is eternal 
and unchangeable, this confidence should give us great peace 
even in the sorest bereavement. 

In the Pitti Palace, at Florence, there are two pictures 
which hang side by side. One represents a stormy sea with 
its wild wave, and black clouds and fierce lightnings flashing 
across the sky.. In the waters a human face is seen, wearing 
an expression of the utmost agony and despair. The other 
picture also represents a sea, tossed by as fierce a storm, with 
as dark clouds; but out of the midst of the waves a rock 













532 


DEATH. 


rises, against which the waters dash in vain. In a cleft of the 
rock are some tufts of grass and green herbage, with sweet 
flowers, and amid these a dove is seen sitting on her nest, quiet 
and undisturbed by the wild fury of the storm. The first pic¬ 
ture dtly represents the sorrow of the world when all is help¬ 
less and despairing ; and the other, the sorrow of the Christian, 
no less severe, but in which he is kdpt in perfect peace, 
because he nestles in the bosom of God’s unchanging love. 

Another of the great comforts when a child is taken away is 
the truth of the immortal life. In the autumn days the birds 
leave our chill northern clime, and we hear their songs no 
more; but the birds are not dead. In the warmer clime of 
the far South they live and amid lovely dowers and fragrant 
foliage, and luscious fruits, they continue to sing as joyously 
as they sang with us in the happiest summer days. So our 
children leave us, and we miss their sweet faces and prattling 
voices; but they have only gone to the summer land of heaven. 
There in the midst of the glory of the Lord, they dwell, shed¬ 
ding their tender grace on other hearts. We all believe this, 
but most of us believe it in such a way as to get but little com¬ 
fort from it. The bringing into our hearts of the truth of 
immortality, in all its richness and fullness of meaning, would 
take away all bitterness from our sorrow when our little ones 
leave us. 

“In that great cloister’s stillness and seclusion, 

• By guardian angels led, 

Safe from terhptation, safe from sin’s pollution, 

She lives, whom we call dead. 

Day after day we think what she is doing 
In those bright realms of air; 

Year after year, her tender steps pursuing. 

Behold her grown more fair.” 

One of the chief elements of the sorrow when children die 
is the sore disappointment. Careers of great usefulness have 
been marked out for them in the fields of hope, and without 
even entering upon them they are gone. They seem to have 
lived in vain, to have died without accomplishing any work in 
this world. So it appears until we think more deeply of it, 
and then we see that they have not been in this world in vain, 


DEATH. 


533 


though their stay was so brief. They have not done what we 
had planned for them to do, but they have accomplished the 
part, in God’s great plan, which he had marked out for them. 

Here is a little babe; it lies now in the coffin with a face 
beautiful as an angel’s smile. It lived but a few days or 
weeks. It merely opened its eyes upon the earth, and then, 
as if too pure for this world of sin. closed them again and went 
back to God. Did you say that it lived in vain, that it per¬ 
formed no work ? Do you know how many blessings it brought 
down from heaven to that home, when it came like a messenger 
from the fragrant garden of God, shook its robes and then lied 
away again ? It only crept into the mother’s bosom for a brief 
season, and was gone; but her heart will be warmer ever 
afterward, her life richer and deeper, her spirit gentler and 
sweeter. No one can tell what holy work a babe performs 
that stays only an hour in this world. It does not live in vain. 
It leaves touches of beauty on other souls which shall never 
fade out. It may accomplish more in that one short hour, 
leave greater blessings behind, than do others who live long 
full years. It may change the eternal destiny of one or more 
souls. Many a child dying leads an unsaved parent to the 
feet of Christ. Certain it is that no true parent is ever just 
the same in character after clasping his own child in his arms. 
To have felt the warmth and thrill of a new love, even for a 
few moments, though the object loved be withdrawn, leaves 
a permanent result in the life. 

God takes away your children, and in faith you surrender 
them to him to see them no more in this world; but you can¬ 
not give back all that they have brought you. In your heart 
new springs of love were opened by their coming; and you 
cannot give these back. Death cannot take out of your life 
the new experiences which you had, in pressing them to your 
heart, or in loving them and caring for them through the sunny 
weeks. You are better, stronger, richer, in your nature, more 
a man or a woman, because you have held in your arms and 
have nurtured your own child. These new outreachings of 
your life can never be taken from you. Like new branches 
of a tree, they will remain ever after, part of yourself. Though 
the loved ones are removed, the results of their coming to you 
and staying with you, the influences, the impressions made. 


534 


DEATH. 


the new growths in your life, will never depart. They are 
your permanent possession forever. Tennyson puts this truth 
in happy phrase: 

“ God gives us love; something to love 
He lends us; but when love is grown 
To ripeness, that on which it throve 
Falls off; and love is left alone.” 

Then while the influences of a child’s life remain, its death 
also brings new blessings to the home. It softens all hearts. 
Rudeness grows gentle under the influence of sorrow. It 
brings parents closer together. Many an incipient estrange¬ 
ment is healed at the coffin of a dead child. It is like a new 
marriage. Lowell writes: 

“ I felt instantly 

Deep in my soul another bond to thee 

Thrill with that life we saw depart from her; 

O mother of our angel child ! twice dear! 

Death knits as well as parts.” 

Many a home owes its purest happiness, its richest blessed¬ 
ness, to its losses. The memories of its sorrows are golden 
chains that bind all hearts together in tenderest clasp. Then 
when Christian faith rules, the mementoes of bereavement 
become inspirers of new hopes, lenses through which we see 
deeper into heaven. Again Lowell writes : 

“ Heaven is not mounted to on wings of dreams, 

Nor doth the unthankful happiness of youth 
Aim thitherward, but floats from bloom to bloom, 

With earth’s warm patch of sunshine well content: 

’Tis sorrow builds the shining ladder up 
Whose golden rounds are our calamities, 

Whereon our firm feet planting, nearer God 
The spirit climbs, and hath its eyes unsealed. 
******* 

Through the clouded glass 
Of our own bitter tears we learn to look 
Undazzled on the kindness of God’s face; 

Earth is too dark and Heaven alone shines through.” 

Such are a few of the comforts and blessings that come 
when the crib i& emptied or a chair left vacant.— J. R. Miller 
in S. S. Times. 


DOES DEATH END ALL? 


REV. H. H. W. HIBSHMAN, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


REQUIRES no argument to persuade any ra¬ 
tional being that man born of woman is of a few 
days—short-lived. Death is the inexorable enemy 
of man at his best estate. The natural man has 
no weapon by which to vanquish death. The weak 
and the strong, the full-grown man and the prat¬ 
tling babe in the mother’s lap, the wise and the 
foolish are all subject to the destructive force called death. 
u It is appointed unto man once to die.” There is no contro¬ 
versy about this. Believers in the teaching of the Bible, and 
that portion of mankind discrediting the assertions of the 
divine Oracle, agree that death is an irresistible champion, 
bold and daring, carrying hoary-headed sages and innocent 
babes alike into the silent chambers of earth. u One genera¬ 
tion passeth away, and another cometh.” 

Multitudes of sons of men have lived and died upon earth. 
Thousands are dying daily, and as long as the present abnor¬ 
mal state of things exists men will continue to pass away from 
the mundane sphere of life and activity. u It is long since 
death began to transport men into another world, and vast 
shoals or multitudes are gone thither already, yet the trade is 
going on still; death is carrying off new inhabitants daily, to 
the house appointed for all living.” Hence, the query arises, 
Does death end everything for man ? 

The question is susceptible of a two-fold answer. First— 
Death ends for man everything pertaining to this present life. 
Second—Death does not annihilate man; does not blot him 
utterly out of existence. 

Death ends for man, as far as we can possibly know, the 
chances, opportunities, and possibilities, to achieve anything 
for himself or for others. Whatever he would attain to, ac¬ 
complish, be, or become physically, socially, intellectually, 
and morally, he must become here in the world. Everything 
concerning the possibilities for improvement in the future is 









DEATH. 


536 

groundless conjecture. We do not hesitate to assert emphati¬ 
cally, that, according to the teaching of the Word of God, 
death ends everything for man ; that it fixes his eternal state 
in weal or in woe. “ As the tree falleth, so it lieth.” 

Whatever scientists may determine by ratiocination; what¬ 
ever vain philosophers may declare as the result of specula¬ 
tion ; the possibilities and opportunities to be in the future 
for development and approach toward the perfection of God 
for man after leaving the present unimproved, it still remains 
true, death ends all. The attempt of scientists and philoso¬ 
phers to reconcile their speculations with the teachings of holy 
writ evidences that the present, is the day of opportunity for 
man—the accepted time. 

He who has a right apprehension of life, of its responsibili¬ 
ties, its stern realities, its advantages and possibilities, as given 
by a wise and kind Providence, will indulge no hopes of en¬ 
joying golden opportunities to come in proper relationship with 
the Absolute and Supreme—God in Hades. Man determines 
his eternal state in this, world. The possibilities for him to 
become what he ought to be, and what God wants him to be, 
are circumscribed to the order of grace and life established by 
God in this world. Life-time is the day for work. Death 
brings the night in which no man can work. He who would 
be in Christ, be a partaker of his life, and sharer of his eternal 
glory, must be incorporated with him on this side of the grave. 
It is worse than madness, with the light of the gospel falling 
around us to dream of a state of probation in the future, in 
which God’s call will again come to men to repent and to be¬ 
lieve, in which the possibilities of salvation will again be in 
reach of men, “ in a real way, and where a fair chance will be 
given them to work out their salvation.” 

Death ends all for man physically. The physical fabric 
in which the spiritual entity dwells, has the principle 
of destruction in it ever since the transgression of Adam 
and Eve. It is a frail house of clay destined, through 
the corroding bane of sin, to crumble into dust, the element 
out of which it was made by creative fiat. The material or¬ 
ganization—human body—in which the soul dwells, and exerts 
its activities, and manifests its indestructible powers—the cor¬ 
poreal with which the soul is connected—is broken, shattered 


DEATH. 


537 

and shivered by death. Its destruction begins with its incipi- 
ency. From the moment the spark of human life is struck 
one distemper after another lays its fangs upon it until death, 
like a sudden blast of wind, extinguishes it. Not because 
death is a natural consequence. Man was not created to suffer 
more or less physically and then die. No! the death of the 
body the destruction of the physical frame of man, is the fatal 
result of the transgression of the divine law. 

Sin is not a necessity; and, if man were free from sin, a per- 
tect being, if his nature were as it originally came from the 
creative hand of God, there would be no death. For the reason 
that man is a vile and polluted mass of flesh and blood, death 
destroys the physical nature. Theologians term it temporal 
death, and physicians are pleased to designate it physical 
death. 

Death ends the career of man in the mundane sphere of ex¬ 
istence and activity, by snapping asunder the vital cords by 
which the body and soul are tacked together. Oh, it makes 
terrible havoc with the body! It takes the breath out of it; 
clogs the blood in the heart, and congeals it in the lungs ; it 
destroys all physical functions; the eye can not see, the ear can 
not hear, the nose can not smell, the tongue can not speak, 
and no partacle of the body is sensitive to the touch. It pre¬ 
pares the whole corpse for wriggling worms to feast upon. So 
dire is the effect of death on the body, when separated from 
the soul, that it only deserves a decent burial, or barbarous 
cremation. 

It is well also to observe that the death of man is not like 
that of the flower, or the vegetable, or the oak of the forest. 
The flower withers, the vegetable decays, and the leaf of the 
tree fades. Neither the flower or the oak are conscious of life 
powers, and pass away without pain. Man is conscious of his 
existence, of his possibilities, of his immaterial side, sensible 
of pain and pleasure. Nor does he die like the beast. To die 
like a beast of the forest, or the ox of the stall would be anni¬ 
hilation. This cannot be. It is contrary to “the intuitive 
human belief.” Ideas of man’s immortality have ever been 
prevalent in all ages of the world, and among all races of men 
in the four corners of the earth. That man is a higher being 
than any other in the animate kingdom of nature; that he is 


35 


DEATH. 


538 

complex in his person, no one pretends to deny. As to his 
higher nature man is indestructible. It can not be humiliated, 
for the reason that it is an immaterial, active essence, an 
entity with heaven-endowed functions. Nor is the immortality 
of the soul conditional. It matters not whether he comes with 
repentance toward God, and with faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ, his soul lives on, on, and on, somewhere in the cycle of 
eternity. Death does not end all for the soul after severing it 
from the body. If it is separated from the tabernacle of flesh 
in its graceless, abnormal condition, it lives on capable of act¬ 
ing, but its activities will be unholy. The sting of death will 
be felt forever. It remains away from God. This is second 
death. 

If the soul, however, is divinely renewed, and again hid 
with God in Christ, death can only separate it from the fleshy 
house. Nothing more. Such a soul wings its way into the 
presence of God to grow in the knowledge of God, to will the 
good for itself in harmony with the holy will of God, to fulfill 
its true destiny praising the Father, and the Son and the Holy 
Ghost, ever and ever, in the sphere of glory. He that believeth 
in the Divine Human Redeemer shall never die. 

For the wicked death is positive punishment—positive 
destruction of happiness, but not of the immaterial entity. “The 
wages of sin is death.” In the hour of death, man’s eternal des¬ 
tiny is fixed. As he improved the opportunities afforded here on 
earth to develop himself in his higher nature, so will he live 
in the other world. If he walked from his God here, through 
the blindness of sin, so will he keep wandering on in the 
unknown future. If he struggled toward the perfection of the 
Father here on earth, so will he go on toward the matchless, 
unattainable perfection of the adorable God-head in an end 
less future. As in Adam, the progenitor of the race, all die, 
so in Christ can all be made alive. 


DEATH. 


539 


CATO ON IMMORTALITY. 


I T must be so—Plato, thou reasonest well! 

Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, 
This longing after immortality? 

Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror, 

Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul, 

Back on herself and startles at destruction? 

’Tis the divinity that stirs within us; 

’Tis heaven, itself, that points out a hereafter. 

And intimates eternity to man. 

Eternity ! thou pleasing, dreadful thought! 

Through what variety of untried being, 

Through what new scenes and changes must we pass ? 
The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me; 

But shadows, clouds, and darkness res*t upon it, 

Here will I hold. If there’s a power above us— 

And that there is, all nature cries aloud 
Through all her works. He must delight in virtue; 

And that which he delights in must be happy. 

But when ? or where ? This world was made for Caesar, 
I’m weary of conjecture—this must end them. 

Thus am I doubly armed. My death and life, 

My bane and antidote, are both before me. 

This in a moment brings me to my end; 

But this informs me I shall never die, 

The soul, secure in her existene, smiles 
At the drawn dagger, and defies its point, 

The stars shall fade away, the sun himself 
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years; 

But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth 
Unhurt amid the war of elements— 

The wreck of matter and the crush of worlds. 

—Joseph Addison. 


\ 











DECORATION DAY. 


REV. E- R. WILLIARD, A. M., GERMANTOWN, 0. 


LL OYER our land, in the cemeteries, where sleep 
our soldier-dead, the graves of those who died in 
defence of our national government, are annually 
strewed with the beautiful and fragrant flowers. 
The 30th of May is the day observed as the time 
to decorate the graves of dead soldiers and sailors 
who fought in the Union armies and navies. The 
people of the South also observe a day, which comes a few 
weeks previous, when they scatter flowers upon the graves of 
the Confederate dead in token of their parental, filial, fraternal 
or friendly remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives 
for u the lost cause.” When we speak of the National Decora¬ 
tion Day, however, the 30th of May is the day meant, and it 
is an expressive evidence of the real Union of States, now 
North and South and East and West, that no sectionalism 
prevents or interferes with, or even discountenances this- 
annual decoration of the graves of the Union dead. 

The origin of this custom of annually observing a National 
Decoration Day has perhaps been most accurately described in 
the following paragraph, which we take from the Chicago 
Inter-Ocean curiosity-shop : “The observance of Decoration 
Day has grown spontaneously from the tender remembrance 
by mothers, sisters, younger brothers, and all who survived the 
war for the Union, of the heroes who perished that we might 
live to enjoy a united, free and just government. The prac¬ 
tice of setting aside a day to visit the graves of their fallen 
soldiers, recall the memory of their noble deeds, and strew their 
tombs with flowers, took its rise early in the late war ; first in 
particular places, here a city, there a village, or it might be a 
county. In some places it was on one day, in others on another 
day. After a time the practice became more general. In 
some cases Governors recommended the observance of a par¬ 
ticular day; but there was no widely extended agreement. 
In time, partly through the influence of leading members of 







DEATH. 


541 


the Christian Commission, which had done so much for soldiers 
during the war, partly through the influence of the pulpit and 
press, and, finally, through the systematic efforts of the Grand 
Army of the Republic and various veteran associations, many 
State Legislatures were induced to make a given day a legal 
holiday for this purpose, and the President and Governors 
were led to unite in recommending the observance of the same 
day, now known as Decoration Day in nearly every State of 
the Union. Precisely when, or in what community, the first 
instance of calling upon the citizens in, general to come 
together for this purpose took place, it seems to be impossible 
at this late day to determine. It is claimed that there were 
instances of this kind as early as the spring of 1863, and some 
say as early as the summer of 1862.” 

It is a somewhat remarkable fact that there is perhaps no 
class of the dead that have always been more highly honored 
than the dead warriors of a nation. The reason of this doubt¬ 
less is because patriotism is one of the strongest emotions in 
the hearts of any people, and, when a nation thinks of those 
who died fighting for the national liberty or the preservation 
of the government, or when we gather around the graves of 
these heroic dead, these strong patriotic emotions are stirred 
to their inmost depths. It is well that a nation does honor 
those who died while battling for its life and liberty and unity. 
They are worthy of all the flowers that can cover their graves, 
and all the honors which the living can bestow are, after all, 
but a small part of the debt of gratitude which is justly due 
the memory of these heroic dead. It is especially creditable 
to American patriotism and our remembrance of our warrior- 
dead, that there is no other nation upon the globe where such 
a beautiful and appropriate custom is annually observed as 
this of our Decoration Day. 

Rufus Choate once said: u In training American patriotism 
you must begin with the child. Let the first name he lisps be 
that of Washington. Tell him the story of the flag as it floats 
in beauty above him, bid him listen to the old-fashioned 
martial music of the Union. Lead him to the graves of the 
soldiers of the war—bid him like Ilanibal when at nine years 
of age, to lay his hand upon the Constitution and swear rever¬ 
ently by it; show him on the map the area to which America 


DEATH. 


542 

has extended itself; the climates that come into the number 
of her months; the silver paths of her trade, wide as the 
world; tell him of her contribution to humanity and her pro¬ 
tests for free government; keep with him the glad and honored 
feasts of her appointment; bury her great names in his heart; 
contemplate habitually, lovingly, intelligently, this grand 
abstraction, this vast reality of good, and you will have done 
much to transform this sentiment of beauty into a national 
life that will live while the sun and moon endure.” 

It is to perpetuate this sentiment of beauty in our national 
life that we meet every spring-time in May, amid the singing 
of birds and the perfume of flowers, to remember in our floral 
offerings every soldier’s grave, however humble and lowly, 
throughout the length and breadth of the land. 

u The celebration of Decoration Day ought to be more than 
a mere recreation, more than a pageant. It ought to teach 
the rising generation the lesson that liberty is no cheaper now 
than it was two thousand years ago. Never was a more costly 
sacrifice made to the principle of civil liberty than the blood 
of American patriots shed twenty years ago. Only twenty 
years ago, in the very blaze of nineteenth century civilization, 
hundreds of thousands of men fought like demons—literally 
like demons—for the right to buy and sell their brothers, nay, 
for the right to scourge and butcher them like cattle ! And if 
there had not been other hundreds of thousands of men with 
equal tenacity of purpose, imbued with a love of liberty and 
a sense of justice, ready to offer their lives in defense of human 
rights, free government would have been wrecked here where 
our forefathers established it. 

It is plain, then, that liberty is not as cheap in this latter 
day. If it is not buttressed with careful political thought and 
action, it will have to be supported in the future, as in the 
past, by swords and bayonets, and will cost precious blood. 
It is the best blood that is spilled on such occasions. There is 
no gain-saving this. The man who offers his life for his 
country is a braver and a better man, other things being equal, 
than he who avoids the fight. He belongs in the world’s cata¬ 
logue of heroes. His dust can never cease to be sacred, for 
he died that other men might live in the enjoyment of the 
peace, quiet, and joy of home. 


DEATH. 


543 

This is an inestimable sacrifice. All that a man hath will 
he give for his life, and yet these gave their lives! They must 
have been great souls thus to forget self and remember only 
their country! Aye. and they were bound to life by the 
tenderest and strongest ties. They left father, mother, wife, 
child, and they dared death, and met its shock and fell bleed¬ 
ing, and died in the turmoil and horrid noise of battle, mangled 
with shot and shell, crushed under the iron hoofs of maddened 
horses—died that you and I and all of us might rest peacefully 
in the bosom of famil3% in the quiet of fireside repose, sur¬ 
rounded by the charms of home and protected by the flag of 
freedom! 

And this is the dust of these heroes! Tread softly over the 
turf, for such dust contains the principle of immortality. It 
is such dust, that renders civilization worthy of survival, and 
it survives only by virtue of such sacrifices of great souls. 
Each and every one of the men it commemorates is worthy to 
be named w T ith Savonarola, and John Hampden, and Abraham 
Lincoln, and James Abram Garfield. 

He hath given his life! That he gave it is evidence that it 
was worth giving—that it was a great, a noble life. To those 
who enjoy the inheritance perpetuated by the sacrifice it is not 
to question—not to hesitate in awarding the due meed of 
praise and gratitude, but to bow reverently in the presence of 
such magnanimity, such patriotism, such devotion. 

It is a beautiful service—this scattering flowers over the 
turf that covers the dust of the Nation’s dead. It is a confes¬ 
sion that posterity owes a debt it cannot discharge, and so 
instead of payment offers its annual tribute of tears and 
flowers. 

Lincoln felt the helplessness of the living in the presence of 
the dust of the dead at Gettysburg when he said: We cannot 
dedicate — we cannot consecrate — we cannot hallow this 
ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, 
have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. 
The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say 
here, but it can never forget what they did here. 

It will be a sad day for the country when it shall forget what 
the soldiers of the Union did at Gettysburg and on the other 


544 


DEATH. 


battle fields of the rebellion; and if those deeds are not 
immortal, where shall we look for worthiness of immortality? 

They fell devoted, but undying: 

The very gale their names seemed sighing; 

The waters murmured of their name; 

The silent pillar, lone and gray, 

Claimed kindred with their clay, 

Their spirits wrapped the dusky mountain, 

Their memory sparkled o’er the fountain ; 

The meanest rill, the mightiest river 
Rolled mingling with their fame forever. 

Immortal, boundless, undecayed 
Their souls the very soil pervade.” 


DECORATION DAY. 


REMOTE and far 
The sounds of war 
In tranquil peace have passed away. 
Though aye we keep, 

For those who sleep, 

With pride, our Decoration Day. 

The bugle calls, 

The rattling balls, 

The march, the charge, the stubborn strife, 
No more invade 
Each hushed brigade, 

Long WTested from this vivid life. 

They silent lie 
Whose valor high 

Shone peerless ’neath the blazing sun. 

In happy hours, 

A rain of flowers, 

Attests the lofty fame they won. 

When comes the May, 

With garlands gay 
Or votive wreaths of palm and pine, 

Trip children sweet, 

Tread manly feet, 

To veil with bloom each lowly shrine. 





DEATH. 


545 


And Eos fair 
Sheds sunbeams there, 

And oft blithe Iris gently braids 
Above the brave 
So safe in grave, 

Her many tinted lights and shades. 

Sleep on, beloved, 

Our hearts are moved 
To higher work and nobler aims, 

To ampler hope 
Our visions ope, 

That Freedom’s scroll preserves your names. 

In sacrifice 
Ye paid full price, 

O’er friend and foe, one flag hath sway, 

Love conquers Hate, 

The Union great, 

Hath part in Decoration Day. 

— Mrs. M. E. Sangster. 


WAIT A MINUTE. 


The following lines were written by Rev. J. Vogt, D. D., Delaware, Ohio, suggested 
by the last words of his daughter-in-law, who said as they were about to administer 
some medicine to her, “ Wait a minute,” and then fell asleep in Jesus. 

'T'Y' TAIT a minute.” I am dying, 

\\ Yes, the end of life has come, 

Y V But a minute “ends my sighing, 

I now leave my earthly home.” 

“ Wait a minute.” ’Tis most over, 

Only yet “ a minute ” more ; 

Blood of Christ, my soul now cover, 

I am near the shining shore. 

“ Wait a minute.” Hear my greeting, 

’Tis my heart’s appeal to you, 

Keep my darlings for our meeting, 

Where the throne of God’s in view. 


f 







540 


DEATH. 


“ Wait a minute.” At the portal, 
Husband dear, I’ll wait for thee; 

In the world of light immortal, 

We shall live eternally. 

“ Wait a minute.” Light is shining, 

Down on me from heaven’s high dome; 
I’m on Jesus’ arm reclining, 

Farewell, earth, I’m going home! 


SERVANT OF GOD, WELL DONE. 


Suggested by the sudden death of Rev. Thomas Taylor, who had preached the 
previous evening. 

O ERVANT of God, well done; 

Rest from thy loved employ; 

The battle fought, the victory won, 

Enter thy master’s joy. 

The voice at midnight came ; 

He started up to hear 
A mortal arrow pierced his frame; 

He fell—but felt no fear. 

Tranquil amidst alarms, 

It found him in the field. 

A veteran slumbering on his arms, 

Beneath his red-cross shield; 

His sword was in his hand, 

Still warm with recent fight; 

Ready that moment, at command, 

Through rock, and steel to smite. 

At midnight came the cry— 

“ To meet thy God, prepare ! ” 

He woke, and caught the Captain’s eye; 

Then strong in faith and prayer, 

His spirit, with a bound, 

Burst its encumbering clay; 

His tent at sunrise on the ground— 

A darkened ruined day. 







DEATH. 


547 


The pains of death are past, 

Labor and sorrow cease : 

And life’s rough warfare closed at last, 

His soul is found in peace. 

Soldier of Christ, well done ; 

Praise be thy new employ; 

And while eternal ages run, 

Rest in thy Savior’s joy, 

—James Montgomery . 


THE BURIAL OF MOSES. 


“And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor; but 
no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.” Deut. xxxiv. 6. 

B Y NEBO’S lonely mountain, 

On this side Jordan’s wave, 

In a vale in the land of Moab, 

There lies a lonely grave; 

But no man dug that sepulchre, 

And no man saw it e’er 
For the angels of God upturned the sod, 

And laid the dead man there. 

That was the grandest funeral 
That ever passed on earth : 

But no man heard the tramping, 

Or saw the train go forth; 

Noiselessly as the daylight 
Comes when the night is done, 

And the crimson streak on the ocean’s cheek # 
Grows into the great sun, 

Noiselessly as the spring-time 
Her crown of verdure weaves, 

And all the trees on all the hills 
Open their thousand leaves— 

So, without sound of music 
Or voice of them that wept, 

* Silently down from the mountain crown 
The great procession swept. 





548 


DEATH. 


Perchance the bald old eagle, 

On gray Beth-peor’s heights, 

Out of his rocky eyrie 
Looked on the wondrous sight; 
Perchance the lion, stalking, 

Still shuns the hallowed spot; 

For beast and bird have seen and heard 
That which man knoweth not. 


Lo! When the warrior dieth, 

His comrades in the war 
With arms reversed, and muffled drum, 
Follow the funeral car. 

They show the banners taken, 

They tell his battles won ; 

And after him lead his masterless steed, 
While peals the minute gun. 


Amid the noblest of the land 
Men lay the sage to rest, 

And give the bard an honored place, 
With costly marble dressed, 

In the great minster transept, 

Where lights like glories fall, 

And the choir sings, and the organ rings, 
Along the emblazoned wall. 


This was the bravest warrior, 

That ever buckled sword ! 

This the most gifted poet 
That ever breathed a word; 

And never earth’s philosopher 
Traced, with his golden pen, 

On the deathless page, truth’s half so sage 
As he wrote dovfrn for men. 


And had he not high honor ? 

The hill-side for his pall, 

To lie in state while angels wait 
With stars for tapers tall, 

And the dark rock pines, like tossing plumes 
Over his bier to wave, 

And God’s own hand, in that lonely land 
To lay him in the grave. 


DEATH. 


549 


In that deep grave, without a name, 

Whence his uncoffined clay 
Shall break again—0 wondrous thought! 

Before the judgment day : 

And stand, with glory wrapped around 
On the hills he never trod, 

And speak of the strife that won our life, 

With the incarnate Son of God. 

0 lonely tomb, in Moab’s land! 

0 dark Beth-peor’s hill! 

Speak to these curious hearts of ours, 

And teach them to be still. 

God hath his mysteries of grace— 

Ways that we cannot tell. 

He hides them deep, like the secret sleep 
Of him he loved so well. 

— Mrs. C. F. Alexander. 


CHRISTIAN CONSOLATION. 


REV. R. B. REICHARD, A. M., HILLSBORO, 0. 


ORROWS AND disappointments are as certain as 
life itself. The experience of every individual 
confirms the truth of the Bible that u Man is born 
unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” Trouble 
comes with us into this world because it comes 
with sin. It is the common heritage of all man¬ 
kind. If a man has nothing else in this vale of 
t tears he is sure of trouble. But this is not the 
divinely appointed order of life. It is not as the wise and 
gracious God intended things should be. It was never deter¬ 
mined to be the inevitable lot of mortal man to live in misery' 
and to die in despair. We find, therefore, that there is a uni¬ 
versal and instinctive longing of soul for a release from the 
conflicts and trials of this present existence. It has, indeed, 
been the great question that has burdened the minds of men 
in all ages, how to bring man into harmony with his surround- 













550 


DEATH. 


ings and thus bring him into place. Human theories and 
plans of various kinds have been proposed ever since sorrow 
cast its dark mantle over this otherwise happy abode of man. 
and in every instance, after the fairest trial, they have all been 
found wanting. Man has, indeed, .sought the world around to 
find that balm that would heal all earth’s wounds, and has 
only been rewarded by additional disappointment and sorrow. 
Earth cannot afford us the peace for which we sigh. And just 
as long as man turns his eyes to this world so long will his 
search be in vain. Light does not spring out of the earth. It 
flashes down upon us from yon blazing sun high up in the 
heavens. If you would have light to dispel the darkness of 
life’s sorrows, look up to the great source of light and comfort. 
If you would find that true balm that heals all wounds and 
alleviates all sorrows, go to the truest and best of all philo¬ 
sophies, the religion of Jesus Christ. All else has failed. 
This never has proven false, but has been found to possess the 
purest peace and most perfect satisfaction for the deepest 
wants of the soul. Millions that have gone before, and mil¬ 
lions living to-day, all rise up to bear testimony to the truth 
of this declaration. This, and this alone, comforted them and 
cast light over life’s tempestuous sea, while battling with the 
adverse winds and tides. By this they were able to steer their 
frail barks into the desired haven. 

But you ask in what particular way does Christianity afford 
us this longed for peace and rest of soul ? It teaches that all 
our troubles and conflicts in life are the result of sin. Sin is 
the mother of all sorrow. “ Name me the evil that springs 
not from this root—the crime that I may not lay at her door.” 
Much comfort comes to us, therefore, in knowing that this 
present, troublous state of things is not the result of divine 
appointment. God does not, as a heartless sovereign, send 
these sorrows upon us only that he may delight himself with 
our miseries. They are the direct and legitimate fruit of evil 
in the world. By man came sin and not by the loving God. 
He is good, and only good. So good, indeed, is he that all the 
impurity and loathsomeness of humanity does not alienate 
him from us, but rather touches his great heart with the 
tenderest pity and divinest compassion. It would not be in 
accordance with his perfectly holy character nor with the 


DEATH. 


- 551 

nature of things to suppose him to be the author of sorrow. 
On the other hand, the gracious God of the glorious faith of 
the Bible has promised to sustain and comfort all who will put 
their trust in him. He will not allow our burdens to grow 
heavier thal! we are able to bear. “ I will never leave thee, 
nor forsake thee,” is his most positive assurance. Instead of 
sending sorrow therefore, he helps us as brave soldiers to 
endure it till sorrow shall be no more. Indeed, the everlast¬ 
ing arms are constantly beneath and around us. The faintest 
sigh of the upturned soul here on earth is heard in heaven. 
The great divine heart is but too anxious to manifest its depths 
of love and sympathy to all earth’s sorrowing and struggling 
ones. If we but love and trust in him, he reveals himself in 
the most tender relation to us, teaching us to call upon him as 
“ Our Father who art in heaven.” In recognition of this glor¬ 
ious relationship, the blessed Master hath said, “If ye, being 
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children. How 
much more will your Father in heaven give good things to 
them that ask him.” Our heavenly Father does not only love 
us—is not only concerned for us in a general way, but we have 
the divine promise, yea, more, the implicit faith, “ that all 
things work together for good, to them that love God.” His 
power is infinite. His resources are inexhaustible. Not only 
will he, not only can he, make that which is favorable tend to 
our greatest happiness; but even the sorrows, the greatest sor¬ 
rows and adversities to which life is incident, will be so over¬ 
ruled as to promote our highest and best interests. Have we 
not yet learned that there are sweets in adversity? Have 
we not yet known that disappointment is better oftimes than 
success ? If not, we have much yet to learn. The greatest 
concern therefore that we should have in this life of conflict 
and woe, is not so much how we may escape suffering as how 
we may best and most patiently endure it. It should not be 
forgotten that the purest peace of mind and of soul that we 
poor mortals can possibly possess here under the present con¬ 
dition of things, is not in being free from trouble, but in living 
with the constant and ever-abiding conviction that the great 
and loving Father is daily and hourly making “ our light afflic¬ 
tion, which is but for a moment, work for us a far more 
exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” “ For I reckon, that 


552 


DEATH. 


the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be com¬ 
pared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” 

Only believe. A living faith in God, our Father, and in his 
Son, our Savior, and in the blessed Spirit our sanctifier, is, in 
brief, the world’s only sure cure for trouble. Without it life 
is vain, and not worth the living, indeed. “ Without faith it 
is impossible to please God.” That noted French writer and 
atheist, Jean Jacques Rousseau, was forced to acknowledge 
that by his godless philosophy he could find no reason for his 
existence, and that be felt himself mocked by destiny. Such 
was but the inevitable result of his thinking. Leave the idea 
of God, and of the faith in God out of consideration, and you 
leave the world without a reasonable cause, and this being 
man, a mighty mystery. But with an intelligent faith in the 
great Creator and Father, new significance is imparted to 
everything. That little word God is a satisfactory explana¬ 
tion for all the mysteries in the universe. If we cannot see 
through all our troubles in life, we can be assured that they 
are all under the supreme and immediate control of God; and 
to know that, for the trusting child, is enough. What more, 
indeed, could be asked ? u He doeth all things well.” u Lord, 
I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” 

Christian pilgrim, do not be discouraged. The conflict will 
soon be over. Run with patience the race set before you, ever 
looking unto Jesus. Ere long you will reach the goal. Soon 
you will lay down life’s heavy burdens. Some are already 
catching gleams of glory from the approaching day. We 
sometimes think we almost hear the sweet music of the heav¬ 
enly harpers. It will not be long. A few more disappoint¬ 
ments, and then we close our eyes in sleep. But O, the light 
that shall follow! From this sleep, what a glorious awaking 
there will be! 

“ I would not live always; I ask not to stay, 

Where storm after storm rises dark o’er the way.” 

O, the blessed assurance that is left us! “ Because I live, ye 
shall live also,” says the loving savior. What more could we 
ask ? Here let us lay our aching hearts and weary souls. This is 
rest. This is peace. Tears are all gone. Death is robbed of 
its terror, and the grave of its gloom. Look up, therefore, for 


DEATH. 


553 

only from above cometli our light, our comfort, and our love. 
“ Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometli in the 
morning.” 


VOICES OF THE DEAD. 


REV. G. W. REMAGEN, NAVARRE, OHIO. 


HEN OUR friends and loved ones have closed 
their eyes in death, and we gather round them to 
take a last farewell, we seem to think their voices 
are hushed for evermore to earth. On the funeral 
day our pangs and griefs would not be half so great, 
were it not for the comfortless thought that the 
sweet melody of mother’s voice, the familiar spee ch 
of brother or sister, the joyous greeting of friends we love, 
and the soft lullaby of the infant’s lips, have been silenced in 
the cold embrace of death. It were not half so hard to bear 
the grim remorse of friends departing from our sight, could 
only their voices be heard through the darkening vail that 
hides them from the world. But, alas! the voices that were 
once so dear to us are forever silent and will no more speak as 
once they spake, although there is a constant longing in the 
heart to hear their words as we often heard them when together 
in the world. Probably the constant longing in the heart has 
done much towards giving evidence to the lying vanities of 
modern mediums. But Spiritualists, like the witch at Endor, 
would be shocked and horror-stricken, if by their spells and 
incantations they should cause slumbering ones to awake and 
appear at the summons of such deception and sorcery. The 
voice that once spoke is silent, but the words spoken are re¬ 
echoed in the hearts of friends on earth. The words of Patrick 
Henry to this day thrill the patriotic heart with high ideas of 
national liberty. Abraham Lincoln’s voice against slavery is 
heard throughout the length and breadth of this “ land of the 
free.” Although they are long in their graves, death cannot 
unspeak their words so fitly spoken. u The just shall live by 



36 









554 


DEATH. 


faith,” is re-echoed throughout all Protestantism as the favo¬ 
rite scriptural text of Dr. Martin Luther. The dying wail 
of Hobbes u I take a leap into the dark,” unsettles and terri¬ 
fies the minds of infidels of to-day. The vicious murderer is 
haunted by the appearance and the speech of his victim, who 
with the wail of a lost soul waves the torch of hell around his 
bed by night. Ah ! there is a language of the tomb. It speaks 
to us of hope and then of despair; of joy, and then of woe; of 
peace and then of war. Sometimes it speaks in the sweetest 
accents of song, and then again in the bitterest shrieks of 
agony; sometimes low as a gentle whisper, and then again 
loud and fierce as the crash of thunders. 

But return to the family circle and listen to the voices of the 
dead that are heard there. How often does the wayward 
child hear the echo of a departed mother’s kind instruction. 
Memory brings her back to the obedient child, who hears her 
tell her affections over again. Or go to the graveyard and lis¬ 
ten to the sepulchral tones that are thundered upon our ears 
there. From that windowless palace of the dead come many 
silent voices that call to our remembrance those who are gone. 
We grieve and sorrow when we see its marked spires, and in 
our sorrowing for the dead they speak to us. 

“ This,” says Irving, “ is the only sorrow from which we refuse 
to be divorced.” To visit the graves of loved ones is bitter 
woe, and yet, “ There is a voice from the tomb that is sweeter 
than song.” 

“ There is a remembrance of the dead to which we turn ever 
from the charms of the living.” 

The voice to us from every grave; and the language of every 
inhabitant of the tomb is this : that we too must die. If then 
we are sad at home, lonely abroad, or sorrowing at the grave, 
among all the voices which recollection may bring to our ears, 
let us also hear a voice from heaven, saying, u Blessed are the 
dead which die in the Lord; yea, saith the Spirit that they 
may rest from their labors and their works do follow them.” 


DEATH. 


555 


OVER THE RIVER. 


O YER the river they beckon to me. 

Loved one’s who crossed to the other side! 

The gleam of their snowy robes I see, 

But their voices are drowned by the rushing tide. 
There’s one with ringlets of sunny gold, 

And eyes the reflection of heaven’s own blue. 

He crossed in the twilight gray and cold, 

And the pale mist hid him from mortal view. 

We saw not the angels that met him there— 

The gate of the city we could not see: 

Over the river, over the river 

My brother stands, waiting to welcome me. 

Over the river the boatman pale 
Carried another, the household pet; 

Her brown curls waved in the gentle gale— 

Darling Minnie ! I see her yet! 

She closed on her bosom her dimpled hands, 

And fearlessly entered the phantom bark. 

We watched it glide from the silver sands, 

And all our sunshine grew strangely dark. 

We know she is safe on the further side, 

Where all the ransomed and angels be : 

Over the river, the mystic river, 

My childhood’s idol is waiting for me. 

For none return from those quiet shores, 

Who cross with the boatman, cold and pale ! 

We hear the dip of the golden oars, 

And catch a glimpse of the snowy sail: 

And lo ! They have passed from our yearning hearts— 
They cross the stream and are gone for aye. 

We may not sunder the vail apart 
That hides from our vision the gates of day: 

We only know that their barks no more 
Sail with us o’er life’s stormy sea; 

Yet somewhere, I know, on the unseen shore, 

They watch, and beckon, and wait for me. 



DEATH. 


And I sit and think when sunset’s gold 
Is flashing on river, and hill, and shore : 

I shall one day stand by thew’aters cold, 

And list to the sound of the boatman’s oar, 

I shall watch for a gleam of the flapping sail, 

I shall hear the boat as it gains the strand. 

I shall pass from sight with the boatman pale 
To the better shore of the spirit-land. 

I shall know the loved who have gone before, 

And joyfully sweet will the meeting be 
When over the river, the peaceful river, 

The angel of death shall carry me. 

— N. A. W. Priest. 


GOD’S ACRE. 


I LIKE that ancient Saxon phrase which calls 
The burial-ground God’s acre ! It is just: 

It consecrates each grave within its wall, 

And breathes a benison o’er the sleeping dust. 

God’s acre ! Yes, that blessed name imparts 
Comfort to those who in the grave have sown 
The seed that they had garnered in their hearts, 

Their bread of life, alas ! no more their ow r n. 

Into its furrows shall we all be cast, 

In the sure faith that we shall rise again. 

At the great harvest, when the archangel’s blast 
Shall winnow T , like a fan the chaff and grain. 

Then shall the good stand in immortal bloom 
In the fair gardens of that second birth, 

And each bright blossom mingle its perfume 

With that of flowers which never blossom on earth. 

— Longfellow . 





WORDS OF COMFORT TO A BEREAVED MOTHER. 


E IS gone, and we are going! We could not have 
enjoyed him long, and shall not long be separated 
from him. He has probably escaped many such 
pangs as you are now feeling. 

Nothing remains but that with humble confi¬ 
dence we resign ourselves to Almighty goodness, 
and fall down without irreverent murmurs before 
the Sovereign Distributer of good and evil, with hope that 
though sorrow endureth for a night, yet joy may come in the 
morning. 

I have known you, madam, too long to think that you 
want any arguments for submission to the Supreme Will; nor 
can my consolation have any effect but that of showing that 
I wish to comfort you. What can be done, you must do for 
yourself. Remember, first, that your child is happy; and 
then that he is safe, not only from the ills of this world, but 
from those more formidable dangers which extend their mis¬ 
chief to eternity. You have brought into the world a rational 
being; have seen him happy during the little life that has 
been granted to him, and can have no doubt that he is happy 
now. 

When you have obtained by prayer such tranquility as 
nature will admit, force your attention, as you can, upon your 
accustomed duties and accustomed entertainments. You can 
do no more for our dear boy, but you must not, therefore, 
think less on those whom your attention may make bitter for 
the place to which he has gone.— Dr. Johnson. 










558 


DEATH. 


MY MOTHER'S GRAVE. 


T HE trembling dew-drops fell 

Upon the shutting flowers; like star-set rest. 
The stars shine gloriously, and all 
Save me, are blest. 

Mother, I love thy grave ; 

The violet with its blossoms, blue and mild 
Waves o’er thy head ; when shall it "wave 
Above thy child. 

’Tis a sweet flower, yet must 
Its bright leaves to the coming tempest bow ! 

Dear mother! ’tis thine emblem; dust 
Is on thy brow. 

And I could love to die ; 

To leave untasted life’s dark, bitter streams— 

By thee, or erst in childhood, lie 
And sear thy dreams. 

But I must linger here ; 

To stain the plumage of my sinless years, 

And mourn the hopes to childhood dear 
With bitter tears. 

Aye, I must linger here, 

A lonely branch upon a withered tree, 

Whose last frail leaf, untimely sere, 

Went down with thee. 

Oft from life’s withered bower, 

In still communion with the past, I turn 
And muse on thee, the only flower, 

In memory’s urn. 

And when the evening pale 
Bows, like a mourner on the dim, blue wave, 

I stay to hear the night-winds w r ail 
Around thy grave. 

—George D. Prentice. 



DEATH. 


559 


ALMOST HOME. 


W HAT! almost home? ” “ Yes, almost home,” she said, 
And light seemed gleaming on her aged head. 

“ Jesus is very precious ! ” Those who near 

Her bedside stood were thrilled those words to hear. 

“ Towards His blest home I turn my willing feet; 

Hinder me not; I go my Lord to meet.” 

Silence ensued. She seemed to pass away, 

Serene and quiet as that Summer day. 

“Speak,” cried through tears her daughter bending low, 

“ One word, beloved mother, ere you go.” 

She spoke that word; the last she spoke on earth, 

In whispering tones—that word of wondrous worth : 

“ JESUS ! ” The sorrowing listeners caught the sound, 

But angels heard it with a joy profound. 

Back, at its mighty power the gates unfold— 

The gates of pearl that guard the streets of gold. 

The harpers with their harps took up the strain, 

And sang the triumphs of the Lord again, 

As through the open portals entered in 
Another soul redeemed from death and sin. 

And as from earth the spirit passed away, 

To dwell forever in the realms of day, 

Those who were left to mourn could almost hear 
The strains of heavenly music strike the ear. 

And to their longing eyes by grace was given, 

In such a scene, as ’twere, a glimpse of heaven. 

— Unknown. 


BLESSED ABE THEY THAT MOURN. 



H, deem not they are blest alone, 
Whose lives a peaceful tenor keep ; 
The Power who pities man has shown 
A blessing for the eyes that weep. 


A light of smiles shall fill again 
The lids that overflow with tears ; 
And weary hours of woe and pain 
Are promises of happier years. 






560 


DEATH. 


There is a day of sunny rest 

For every dark and troubled night; 

And grief may bide an evening guest, 

But joy shall come with early light. 

And thou, who, o’er thy friends low bier, 

Sheddest the bitter drops like rain ; 

Hope that a brighter, happier sphere 
Will give him to thy arms again. 

Nor let the good man’s trust depart. 

Though life its common gifts deny; 

Though with a pierced and bleeding heart, 

And spurned of men, he goes to die. 

For God hath marked each sorrowing day, 

And numbered every secret tear. 

And heaven’s long age of bliss shall pay 
For all his children suffer here. 

— William Cullen Bryant 


A MYSTERIOUS PROVIDENCE. 


REV. J. VOGT, D. D. DELAWARE, 0. 


Composed on the death of his little son. 


I 


SAW an angel fly through heaven, 

Who with divinest glory shone ; 

A Spirit of the holy seven, 

Who stand before th’ eternal throne; 
And all the holy, shining throng, 
Stood silent as he flew along. 


And then I saw him swiftly winging, 

Down from the shining world above, 

And heard his sweet, melodious singing, 

Of Jesus, and his dying love; 

He paused a moment in,his flight, 

Just as he passed our home that night. 






DEATH. 


561 


When he his flight to heaven pursued, 

My eyes were dim, my heart was sore; 

I only heard a precious duet, 

Such as I never heard before; 

But others who beheld the sight, 

Said two had passed the port of light. 

Our home is now so very dreary, 

An empty bed, a vacant chair, 

And I am sad, and lone, and weary, 

For one is missing everywhere : 

And satisfied I ne’er can be, 

Until that angel comes for me. 


A TRANSPLANTED FLOWER. 


HEY. J. VOGT, D. D., DELAWARE, OHIO. 


E ARTH’S beautiful and lovely flowers, 

Can charm us but a day; 

But there are higher, holier bowers, 
Where life knows no decay. 

One bloomed for us, so pure and fair ! 

We looked, and it was gone ; 

O, Holy Father! tell us where ? 

And why we’re left alone? 

Alight shone from the azure sky, 

From the holy shining sphere, 

And a voice w'as heard from the throne on high. 
Your flower now blooms up here. 

There is a little flowery bed, 

How soft and green the sod; 

But Jesus says “ She is not dead,” 

She's only gone to God. 

O, blessed world ! Immortal bowers ! 

Where life knows no decay; 

There bloom our dear transplanted flowers, 

In God’s eternal day. 






MOURNING FOR THE DEAD. 


HRISTIAN GRIEF for our deceased friends is not 
forbidden in Scripture, but we have instances of 
it. Thus, Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and 
wept for her; Joseph made a mourning for his 
father seven days; the children of Israel wept 
for Moses thirty days ; David lamented the death 
of Saul, Jonathan and Abner; Christ also wept over the 
grave of Lazarus; good men, who carried Stephen to his 
burial, made great lamentation over him, and the apostle Paul 
grieved for the sickness of Epaphroditus, who was near unto 
death; but immoderate sorrow and all extravagant forms of 
it are forbidden, for we are not to sorrow as those who have 
no hope. 

Nay, even Seneca, the heathen, who had some notion of the 
immortality of the soul and the resurrection, says thus : “ The 
thought of deceased friends is sweet and pleasant to me, for I 
have enjoyed them as one that was about to lose them, and 
I have lost them as one that may have them again.”— 
Dr. Gill. 




I 













PART VI. 


0 


WHAT HEAVEN IS. 



REV. H. H. W. HIBSHMAN, D. D., TIFFIN, OHIO. 


EAVEN is to be regarded as the place in which the 
Most High has his abode, and where • he reveals 
himself in unrivaled splendor, majesty and glory, 
as nowhere else in the immensity of the universe 
to his intelligent creatures. This opinion has been 
entertained both in barbarous and civilized nations 
and in every age. The Greeks and the Komans, 
the Jews and the Christians, believe in a place—a 
heaven—as the peculiar residence of a Supreme 
Being—God; in a place as the special habitation of the good 
and virtuous during an endless future; in a place of felicity 
filled with the brightness and glory of an ineffable God. 

There is much theorizing in regard to this place and its 
locality. Numerous opinions have been advanced by men 
given to speculation on religious subjects, concerning the 
future abode of happiness. Many of the theories are more 
fanciful than scriptural, and not a few of the philosophical 
opinions are based on hypotheses grounded on passages of 
Scripture that will not allow the interpretation given them. It 
is not our province here to refute false theories and opinions 
concerning heaven, but to set forth such things as are con¬ 
firmed by the revealed word. 

The place of happiness is designated by various terms in 
the Scripture. It is called the Father’s House of many man¬ 
sions ; Paradise; the Best that remaineth to the people of 
God; the Father’s Kingdom of light and glory; Eternal Life; 
Everlasting Salvation; the New Jerusalem ; the City, whose 
maker and builder is God. These phrases are synonymous 
and teach unmistakably that there is a place of future happi¬ 
ness for the children of God when the conflicts and turmoils 
of this present life are over. 

This abode of happiness has locality. To deny this is to 











566 


HEAVEN. 


deny the plain teaching of the Scripture, and to be in conflict 
with the views held in all ages of the world. It is somewhere 
localized in God’s unlimited expanse.of space. It is a place 
definite and fixed by the Lord God, in which unfallen angels 
and the saints, robed in white garments, dwell. Where this 
place is, it did not please the Lord to reveal to finite beings. 
We speak of it as above our heads, as on the other side, and 
beyond the river of death. By such vague expressions we 
mean to say that heaven is not in the visible creation. It is 
beyond the aerial heaven through which the clouds float, the 
birds and insects fly, and the contrary winds blow. It is beyond 
the canopy of matchless blue in which those shining 
luminaries, sun, moon and stars are fixed to revolve in their 
orbits for the joy and pleasure of rational beings on earth. It 
is separate and distinct from the first and the second heavens. 
It cannot be a place perceptible to men in an abnormal con¬ 
dition. Because we cannot localize it somewhere in the incom¬ 
prehensible expanse of the universe it is not therefore less a 
reality. It is somewhere, God’s seat is there. He dwells 
there in a peculiar sense which we cannot explain. The 
angels and glorified saints are there. It is a place of rapture 
and bliss for holy ones of all ages and climes. It is not only 
u a state” without fixation, but it is a place localized. 

From Revelation we learn that it is a place of grandeur and 
sublimity. No mortal can declare it, and no facile pen describe 
it. The most refined and exquisite description of it is unsatis¬ 
factory. The ten thousand and more attempts made to describe 
it have ever proven futile. It never will be given to man to 
enjoy more than glimpses of it. Even John, the inspired, 
could only give us faint conceptions of the city of God. His 
description, however, is sufficient to intensify the longings of 
the Christian heart to be received into the same. 

John wrote with a pen of rapture as he saw in vision that 
heaven had foundations firm and secure as the eternal and 
unchangeable God. u The wall of the city had twelve foun¬ 
dations.” This language is indicative of firmness and security. 
There is a loftiness of style in the expression u twelve founda¬ 
tions,” no other writer but an inspired one would have 
attempted to use to express durability. Not only one secure, 
solidly compacted foundation, but twelve tiers of massive 


HEAVEN. 


567 

stone laid one above the other to sustain the jasper walls that 
engirdle the whole beautiful place. John could not possibly 
employ, in our opinion, any hyperbole to express and rivet 
upon the mind the durability—eternity—of heaven more forc¬ 
ibly. To say that the city has u twelve foundations ” lifts us 
above degrading carnal views—above such views as enter into 
the dreams of heathen sages and poets, above the sensuous 
views entertained by deluded Mohammetan. It is a city which 
hath foundations, garnished with all kinds of precious stones. 
It is a kingdom that cannot be moved. 

It is a glorious place. The glory of God, and of the Lamb 
who was slain on Golgotha; makes it such. As the sun of the 
firmanent is the centre and the brightness of all planets, con¬ 
stituting the visible, known solar system, so is God’s glory the 
glory of the whole heaven. The place is radiant. Gleams of 
indescribable light beam incessantly from the Most High upon 
the throng of intelligent beings dwelling together in God’s 
presence. It must be so. Were it otherwise it could not be 
true heaven. God must be the centre of the place to consti¬ 
tute it heaven. He must reveal himself continually in his 
infinite majesty, power, holiness, wisdom, knowledge and 
glory. Every part of heaven is full, in the highest sense, of 
the glory of the adorable God-head, Father, Son and the Holy 
Ghost. 

But Jesus, the glorified One, is especially the light of heaven. 
4 * The Lamb is the Light thereof.” As he was the light of the 
world, so will he be the light of heaven. His presence at the 
right hand of the Father makes it the place of sublime splen¬ 
dor. The redeemed will walk in his light, see his face, and 
revel in his glory. The face of the glorified Jesus shines for¬ 
ever upon them. 

It is a glorious place for the redeemed ‘of all ages of the 
world, from all climes, all races, enjoying an inheritance 
incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, are forever 
together there, delighting in each other’s presence. They 
constitute a pure, elevated, refined spiritual order of society. 
Perfection expresseth it. In unity, in love, and in divine fel¬ 
lowship they abide forever together. 

It is a glorious place, for everything that gives an idea of 
that which is great, grand and magnificent, is found there. 


568 


HEAVEN. 


The visible arrangements, the tabernacle and temple services, 
under The Mosaic dispensation, to symbolize heaven, fell 
immeasurably below the real and actual. It fell far below the 
representations we have of u the most holy place, where the 
Deity resides and manifests his presence to the angelic hosts 
and redeemed company who surround him,” under the Chris¬ 
tian dispensation. 

On the mount of vision John saw a sea of glass before the 
white throne. He saw the redeemed of all ages stand upon 
this crystal sea. Taking the vision of the crystal sea as figur¬ 
ative it is not the less valuable. It symbolizes that the glory 
and brightness of the Lord Jehovah are the joy and inexpress¬ 
ible delight of blood-washed saints. It is symbolic of the 
quiet and tranquility of the place. “ It may be a symbol of 
God’s abiding presence in the glorified soul.” Whatever view 
we may take of it, it is expressive of the high and exalted 
position of the redeemed. They stand on the sea, indicative 
of matchless purity in perfect peace, and filled with unutter¬ 
able joy. They are at rest. There pleasure is unmixed. They 
are free from trials, cares, anxieties, and everything that can 
distress the soul, or batter the mortal frame. 

Heaven is spanned with a brilliant bow of consolation. It 
is the Emerald rainbow. This represents heaven as the place 
in which the love, goodness and faithfulness of God are forever 
secured to the glorified ones. 

Seven lamps are there. We are informed that these lamps 
are placed in front of the great white throne, shedding floods 
of light upon it, and underneath upon the crystal sea. These 
lamps are magnificent constellations in this moral universe of 
purity and felicity, emblematical of the eternal duration of 
the saint’s joy and delight. They are “ the great watch lights 
of the eternal world.” John would impress upon the mind of 
the Christian that the light of heaven never goes out, nor 
grows dim; that the saints pass from one stage of glory to 
another, on, on, and on toward the perfection of God. 

Heaven is a great and glorious place. It is the bosom of the 
love and perfection in which it is desirable for a rational being 
to dwell. The river of life is there, the great white throne is 
there, everything is there to make it the grandest and sub- 
limest place in God’s universe. It is the only place of absolute 


HEAVEN. 


569 

happiness, bliss, perfection and purity. It is the habitation of 
the Absolute and Supreme, the house in which Jesus dwells 
and officiates as the High Priest, a personal advocate and 
intercessor for believing men; the place into which the Father 
made it possible for men to pass into, and to dwell in his 
presence of divine majesty; the abode into which the loving 
Jesus would lure the sons and daughters of sinful Adam to be 
forever holy, happy, glorious. 

The whole onward movement of that order of grace and 
life, as established in the church among men by God, is toward 
this realm of grandeur, beauty, perfection and inexpressible 
sublimity, we call heaven; and the true end of this mortal 
life is to get to Christ, to God, to heaven. This missed, then 
there is no joy, no felicity, no crown of rejoicing in the future. 

“ There is a world above 

Where parting is unknown: 

A long eternity of love 
The good enjoy alone: 

And faith beholds them dying here, 

Translated to that glorious sphere.” 



37 



NEARNESS TO HEAVEN. 


CHILDREN of God! death hath lost its sting, 
because the devil’s power over it is destroyed. 
Then cease to fear dying. Thou knowest what 
death is; look him in the face, and tell him thou 
art not afraid of him. Ask grace from God, that 
by an intimate knowledge and firm belief of thy 
Master’s death, thou mayest be strengthened for that dread 
hour. And, mark me, if thou so livest, thou mayest be able 
to think of death with pleasure, and to welcome it when it 
comes with intense delight. It is sw T eet to die, to lie upon 
the breast of Christ, and have one’s soul kissed out of one’s 
body by the lips of divine affection. And you that have lost 
friends, or that may be bereaved, sorrow not as those that 
are without hope, for remember the power of the devil is taken 
away. What a sweet thought the death of Christ brings us 
concerning those who are departed ! They are gone, my 
brethren; but do you know how far they have gone ? The 
distance between the glorified spirits in heaven, and the mili¬ 
tant saints on earth seems great, but it is not so ; we are not far 
from home. 



“ One gentle sigh the Spirit breaks, 

We scarce can say ’tis gone, 

Before the ransomed Spirit takes, 

Its station near the throne.’’ 

We measure distance by time. We are apt to say a certain 
place is so many hours from us. If it is a hundred miles off, 
and there is no railroad, we think it a long way; if there is a 
railway, we think we can be there in no time. But how near 
must we say heaven is ? For it is just one sigh and we get 
there. Why, my brethren, our departed friends are only in 
the upper room, as it were, of the same house; they have not 
gone far off; they are up stairs and we are down below.— 
Spurgeon. 












HEAVEN. 


571 


HEAVEN A LITTLE WAY. 


A LITTLE way! I know it is not far 

To that dear home where my beloved are ; 

And still my heart sits, like a bird, upon 
The empty nest, and mourns its treasures gone, 
Plumed for their flight, 

And vanished quite. 

Ah me ! where is the comfort? though I say 
They have but journeyed on a little way. 


A little way! At times they seem so near, 

Their voices even murmur in my ear, 

To all my duties loving presence lend, 

And with sweet ministry my steps attend. 

’Twas here we met and parted company; 

Why should their gain be such a grief to me? 

This sense of loss! 

This heavy cross! 

Dear Savior, take the burden ofl, I pray, 

And show me heaven is but—a little way. 

A little way! The sentence I repeat, 

Hoping and longing, to extract some sweet 
To mingle with the bitter: from Thy hand 
I take the cup I cannot understand, 

And in my weakness give myself to Thee. 

Although it seems so very, very far 
To that dear home where my beloved are, 

I know, I know, 

It is not so; 

Oh, give me faith to believe it when I say 
That they are gone—gone but a little way. 

— Anonymous. 





THE BLESSEDNESS OF HEAVEN. 



REV. ALBERT G0NSER, WEST SALEM, 0. 


HE BIBLE, although it tells us much about heaven, 
does not tell us in what its blessedness consists. 
The reason is that language could not express it, 
nor are we prepared to understand it. Our finite 
mind and imperfect heart do not enable us to grasp 
or realize the blessedness of heaven. Paul says 
that when he was caught up into Paradise, he 
heard and saw things unutterable. John, in his 
apocalyptic vision, tells us he saw a great multitude which no 
man could number, heard them praise God—and saw the 
beautiful city, the new Jerusalem. Paul, again says, “Eye 
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the 
hearts of men, the things which God hath prepared for them 
that love him.” 

The Bible variously describes the blessedness of heaven. 
Sometimes it speaks of it as a crown of life, an exceeding eter¬ 
nal weight of glory, an inheritance that is incorruptible—a 
rest that remains for the people of God, a city that hath 
foundation ; what all this means we cannot fully comprehend 
or express, as all our notions of it are imperfect. We must 
wait until we get there to know it in its fullness. 


“ True happiness ne’er entered at an eye; 

True happiness resides in things unseen.” 

Yet we can form some idea of it, and know that it will com¬ 
prehend the fullness of bliss. Nothing will be wanting to 
make it perfectly happy. There will be nothing wanting to 
make our bliss complete. 

There will be no physical evil there. This world is a vale 
of tears. Here we have sickness, pain, sorrow, death—a mul¬ 
titude of afflictions. There, there will be no hunger, thirst, 
famine, nor pestilence; no darkness, sorrow, pain nor death. 
We will hear no cough. There will be no miasma there, no 
fever in the air, no invalids, no cruelties, no crutches, no deaf- 










HEAVEN. 573 

ness, no spectacles for poor sight—but health immortal, and 
joy eternal will reign forever. 

There will be no moral evil in heaven, for nothing that 
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie shall enter there. Here 
we see sin under every imaginable form, spreading misery 
and wretchedness around us. Blasphemy, lying, murder, 
cheating, deceit, adultery, drunkenness, etc., meet us on every 
hand. Who can tell the suffering occasioned by the single sin 
of drunkenness ? For who hath sorrow and woe like the 
drunkard and his family ? Wherever this evil is found, pov¬ 
erty, suffering, and disgrace are associated with it. Sin and 
misery always go together. Where the one is the other is 
sure to be also. As long as sin will be in the world, there will 
be suffering and distress; for the wages of sin is death. As 
there will be no sin in heaven, there will, as a consequence, be 
no suffering or sorrow there ; for God shall wipe all tears from 
the eyes of his children as they enter that blessed abode. 

But not only is the Christian grieved by the many forms 
of evil, which he sees around him in the world; he is also 
pained on account of its influence upon himself; for, notwith¬ 
standing the great change wrought in him at the time of his 
regeneration, he still carries about with him an evil heart of 
unbelief, against which he has to struggle all his life long, so 
that when he would do good evil is present with him. Often 
this conflict within is so violent and painful that he cries out 
with the apostle: “0, wretched man that I am; who shall 

deliver me from the body of this death.” But in heaven his con¬ 
flict will be over, for sin will have no influence or dominion 
over him ; nor will there be any thing to separate him from 
the fullest and freest communion with God, his Heavenly 
Father. 

There will be no strife in heaven. One will not be arrayed 
against another. There will be no jealousies, no fault-finding, 
no back-biting, no slander, no abuse there ; for all will love 
each other with true and sincere affection and dwell together 
in perfect harmony and peace. 

This complete happiness of the saints will begin immedi¬ 
ately after death; for “ Blessed are the dead who die in the 
Lord, for they shall rest from their labors, and their works fol¬ 
low them.” When it is said of the saints that they shall rest 


HEAVEN. 


574 

in heaven, we are not to understand this as meaning that they 
are inactive, for the Scriptures teach us, that the heavenly 
life will be one of greater activity than the present; but it 
will be activity that will never tire, or produce weariness and 
languor. 

“ Their works will also follow them,” by which it is meant 
they shall be rewarded. All they ever said, thought, or did ; 
every noble deed they performed; every act of charity to the 
poor or suffering ; every prayer they offered; every tear they 
wiped from sorrow’s weeping eye; every cup of cold water 
they gave to one of Christ’s followers, will receive its merited 
reward. 

With a world of such happiness in view, the Christian may 
joyfully say,— 

“ Let cares like a wild deluge come, 

And storms of sorrow fall; 

May I but safely reach my home, 

My God, my heav’n, my all. 

There shall I bathe my weary soul, 

In seas of heavenly rest, 

And not a wave of trouble roll 
Across my peaceful breast.” 











THE HOPE OF HEAVEN. 


REV. WM. H. XANDERS, A. B., MULBERRY, IND. 


MONG THE many and inestimable blessings con¬ 
ferred upon man is the Christian religion, which 
has brought peace and joy into this world, with 
“ The Hope of Heaven.” Christianity is the hope 
of the world, and we regard every manifestation 
of its spirit and power as an era in human history. 
. We are perplexed and dazzled by the revolutions 
of empires and of nations as they rise ar.d fall; and often we 
hope much from the changes that take place in the govern¬ 
ments of the world. But nothing apart from Christianity can 
give us the hope of regenerating the world. Hence we hail 
with joy its message of peace, and the hope which it instills 
in the human breast of the world to come. Christianity, truly 
and rightly understood, has a direct tendency to give us a 
clearer comprehension of the true object of life, and a deeper 
feeling of the truth in the world to come. 

Human life is subject to constant changes, from the cradle 
to the grave. Man is borne along life’s billowy ocean, on 
whose bosom there is unceasing fluctuation. Now he is wafted 
upward on the waves of fortune, then plunged to the depth in 
cruel adversity. But let come what may, his soul is not 
frightened at the gloomy contemplation, but rather brightens 
in the hope of heaven, and of what God has prepared for them 
who love him. 

There is magic in the word heaven to him who entertains 
the hope of a blessed immortality^, however discordant his life 
may be. Man is ever allured onward and upward by the 
spiritual powers and forces implanted in his being. With 
philosophic speculation he probes the mysteries of time and 
space. On wings of fancy he scales the heavens, and filled 
with holy and heavenly impulses, he longs to burst the 
shackles and bonds of sin, and breathe the incense of the spirit 
world, destined to be his final goal. Whether in the affairs of 
business, or in the pursuits of pleasure; whether actuated by 






576 


IIEAEVN. 


sordid motives of self-aggrandizement, or worldly emoluments; 
whether the soul be stirred by holy aspirations to realize all 
the pleasures this world can bestow, yet man is ever prompted 
by the spirit of unrest to close his eyes to the pleasures of this 
world, and look with proud anticipations to the unborn realities 
of the future, as he journeys along the rugged path of life, 
illuminated by the bright torch of hope to immortality. 

If this is true of human life in general, it must of necessity 
be true of the individual. The child, when born into this 
world, scarcely awakes from its infantile slumber, until it 
begins to lisp the accents of hope in the future life. The 
youth, with bouyant step, hastens away from the scenes of 
his childhood, eager to catch the first beams of manhood’s 
golden prime. This coveted prize of his fond ambition having 
been attained, he chooses not to linger, but with a frown and 
a farewell to the past, and a smile of happy expectation and 
hope of the future, he hastens on through life’s vicissitudes, 
with now a beam of gladness on his brow, and then a tear of 
sorrow on his cheek, until, like one musing in his dreams, 
insensible to fleeting time, the Hope of Heaven ever and 
anon rises within his heart as the sweet inheritance—the 
precious boon of life—bestowed upon him in the earliest days 
of his existence by the Spirit of God. 

The aged who have arrived at the grand limit of human 
existence, when the accumulated burdens of life’s realities 
hang heavily on the soul, long to lift the veil of futurity and 
behold the glorious reality of heaven, as we have no perma¬ 
nent abode here. All our interests and possessions are but for 
a day, they vanish and pass away. The confidence and hope 
we repose in earthly riches and possessions, pass away, with 
them. What, at best, then, have we; what is it that keeps man 
from out the slough of despondency and despair? The only 
answer is, the u Hope of Heaven.” How fitly, then, has hope 
been called the u Golden Censer swinging in the temple of 
life.” With every recurring day it swings and scatters sweet 
incense as we journey along the path of life. It imparts 
impulse, zeal, and perseverance, as the untrodden path of the 
revealed futurity presents itself. Thus perseveringly we pur¬ 
sue the real object of life, to do God’s will and attain happi¬ 
ness. 


HEAVEN. 


577 

There is, indeed, very little true happiness in this life, 
which does not flow directly or indirectly from the hope we 
have in heaven. It is a God-given gift, a possession of all the 
children of God. It is the best part of our riches, and when 
earthly possessions pass away, it reaches further than all else, 
into the other world—into heaven. 

What then is necessary for the Christian to stimulate hope? 
We answer, to rely upon God with the confident expectation 
of the fulfillment of the promises of the gospel, believing 
that every promise will be a glorious reality. To rejoice in 
the midst of misfortune and seeming sadness, will cause hope 
to look through and beyond the dark clouds and see a beam 
of bright light from God in the world beyond, and awaken 
the desire to pray, and to long for the object of our hope. 
And as some one has so beautifully said: u Hope and fasting 
are the two wings of prayer. Fasting is but as the wing of a 
bird, but hope is like the wing of an angel, soaring up to 
heaven, and bears our prayers to the throne of grace.” Prayer 
lifts the soul up into sweet communion with God, and he 
who prays believingly, God, for the sake of Christ, will 
answer such prayers, and it is infallibly certain that there is 
a heaven for all such. That we shall enter heaven and realize 
the object of our hope, there can be no doubt if we persevere 
and pray to the end, for 

Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath, 

The Christian’s native air, 

His watchword at the gate of death ; 

He enters heaven by prayer.” 


OUR HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 



REV. J. H. LIPPARD, ANNA, ILL. 


S THE true child of God has his race almost run 
and his u course almost finished,” there is probably 
no thought so glorious and delightful to muse upon 
as that of our heavenly inheritance. Glorious 
because a foretaste is already enjoyed by the soul, 
and delightful, because the day is so near at hand 
in which a perfect realization of all its riches shall be obtained. 
There are but two inheritances that we can seek, the earthly 
and the heavenly. We may easily analyze the constituent 
elements of the former, such as houses, lands, silver and gold, 
but the constituents of the latter are not so easily described. 
Yet we are not left without a partial knowledge as to what our 
heavenly inheritance shall be. It shall be ours to receive and 
enjoy the crown of life, the tree of life, the river of life, and 
eternal life. We shall see Jesus, be like Jesus, and reign with 
Jesus for ever and ever. Only a foretaste of this heavenly 
inheritance is enjoyed in this life. Now we know only in part 
as to the glories of this inheritance; yet in our inability to 
apprehend perfectly as to the height and depth, the length and 
breath of this inheritance, we are not discouraged, but rather 
encouraged to press onward by the thought that “ eye hath not 
seen, nor ear heard ; neither hath it entered into the heart of 
man to conceive of what God has in store for them that love 
him.” Yes, the child of God is thrilled with the assurance 
that his inheritance is infinitely greater than his holiest antici¬ 
pations. 

A very superficial view of our surroundings is all that is 
necessary on the part of the true Christian, to recognize the 
fact that “ this is not our abiding city.” The power of sin in 
working corruption is on every side made manifest. The 
imaginations of man, his desires, his thoughts and actions are 
often manifestly corrupt. The effects of sin are on every 
side of the heavenly pilgrim as he journeys onward, till his 





HEAVEN. 


579 


soul bursts forth in exclamation, u Oh, for the enjoyment of 
something that sin has not corrupted,” and he remembers his 
calling to an inheritance—a heavenly inheritance that is incor¬ 
ruptible. On meditating upon his heavenly inheritance, his 
anticipations are enlarged, and his soul is buoyed up with the 
precious thought that he will soon be enraptured with the 
glories of an incorruptible inheritance. Just as little as sin 
can corrupt, so little can it defile the Christian’s portion, so 
that it is not only an incorruptible, but also an undefiled 
inheritance. 

These are thoughts which characterize the subject under 
consideration, but let us not stop here for there is still another 
characteristic of this inheritance that augments its blessed¬ 
ness and adds to its beauty, viz: Its durability. It u fadeth 
not away.” How unlike are the long and hard-labored for 
riches of to-day, enjoyed at most only for a short time and 
then fade away. How many instances can you not bring to 
mind of persons who have received a worldly inheritance, and 
were carried, as it were, upon its wings which began to fade, 
fade, fade; only to teach its once happy possessor the true, 
and often experienced fact, that the only unfading inheritance 
lies in the great beyond. Indeed, does not this thought of 
unfading throw a halo of glory around our heavenly inherit¬ 
ance, and enshrine it with the richest of sainted faith. The 
crowns of palm leaves that have so often been placed upon 
the victorious have faded away, but that crown which shall be 
placed upon them that overcome, u shall not fade away.” O, 
precious secrets in the life of the faithful. Sweet voice that 
whispers to the weary heavenly pilgrim, unfading inheritance. 
Blessed, blessed, thrice blessed are they that obtain that 
heavenly inheritance. 



580 


HEAVEN. 


THE PLACE WHERE REST MAY BE FOUND. 


T ELL ME, ye winged winds, that round my pathway roar, 

Do ye not know some spot wdiere mortals weep no more? 
Some lone and pleasant dell, some valley in the West, 
Where, free from toil and pain, the w T eary soul maj’- rest? 
The loud wind dwindled to a w 7 hisper low, 

And sigh’d for pity as it answer’d—“No.” 

Tell me, thou mighty deep, whose billows round me play— 
Know’st thou some favor’d spot, some island far away, 

Where weary man may find the bliss for which he sighs— 

Where sorrow 7 never lives, and friendship never dies? 

The loud waves rolling in perpetual flow 
Stopp’d for awhile, and sigh’d to answer—“ No.” 

And thou, serenest moon, that, with such lovely face, 

Dost look upon the earth asleep in night’s embrace, 

Tell me, in all thy round, hast thou not seen some spot 
Where miserable man might find a happier lot? 

Behind a cloud the moon withdrew 7 in w r oe, 

And a voice, sweet, but sad, responded—“No.” 

Tell me, my secret soul—oh, tell me, Hope and Faith, 

Is there no resting-place from sorrow, sin and death ?— 

Is there no happy spot where mortals may be bless’d, 

Where grief may find a balm, and w r eariness a rest! 

Faith, Hope, and Love, best boons to mortals given, 

Waved their bright wings, and whispered—“Yes, in heaven !” 

—Charles Mackay. 


MY ANGEL NAME. 


I N THE land where I am going, 

When my earthly life is o’er, 

When the tired hands cease their striving, 
Where the tired heart aches no'more— 
In that land of light and beauty 
Where no shadow's ever come, 

To o’ercloud the perfect glory— 

What shall be my angel name ? 






HEAVEN. 


581 


When the spirits who await me 
Meet me at my entering in, 

With what name of love and music 
Will their welcoming begin? 

Not the one so dimmed with earth-stains, 
Linked with thoughts of grief and blame, 

No—the name that mortal gave me 
Will not be my angel name ! 

I have heard it all too often. 

Uttered by unloving lips; 

Earthly care, and sin, and sorrow, 

Dim it with their deep eclipse. 

I shall change it like a garment, 

When I leave this mortal frame, 

And at life’s immortal baptism, 

I shall have another name ! 

For the angels will not call me 
By the name I bear on earth; 

They will speak a holier language 
Where I have my holier birth : 

Syllabled in heavenly music— 

Sweeter far than earth may claim— 

Very gentle, pure and tender— 

Such will be my angel name! 

It has thrilled my spirit often, 

In the holiest of my dreams; 

But its beauty lingers with me, 

Only like the morning beams; 

Weary of the jarring discord, 

Which the lips of mortal’s frame 

When shall I with joy and rapture, 

Answer to my angel name? 


NO TEARS IN HEAVEN. 



REV. J. V. LERCH, B. S. CANAL FULTON, 0. 


0 TEARS in heaven they say! No, no tears there! 
There is nothing in heaven that would prompt or 
give cause for tears, and there they are altogether 
unknown. However much you may have been 
accustomed to their unbidden flow down your 
heated cheeks, just as you enter the portals, the 
pearly gates of heaven, they will be dried up. In 
the twinkling of an eye all will be changed. New 
sights and new scenes will meet to dispel the gloom of all the 
past, and as it was with the divine penman of old, so it will be 
with you, you will be gladly constrained to say, “ They that 
sow in tears shall reap in joy.” You will reap at once, and in 
triumph exclaim: “ 0 death where is thy sting! O grave 
where is thy victory ?” Thou art but a thing of the past. Thou 
art gone. 

In heaven peace and contentment reign. The turbulent 
waves of a life in this world are washed ashore from whence 
they can never return. There is the real u balm in Gilead ” 
which soothes your sorrows, heals your wounds, and dries up 
every tear. No trouble will invade your peaceful breast. 

How wonderfully different the heavenly life must be as 
compared with our life here. In this world we meet with the 
sadest reverses when we least expect them, trials that thwart 
our deeply laid and unfinished plans, and that blight our 
dearest and fondest hopes. But it will be different, far dif¬ 
ferent in heaven. We are sad, heavy laden and weary now, 
then and there, Christ will give us rest. 

Severed from things earthly, united to things above, rescued 
from the grave and death, being washed white and made pure 
through the blood of the Lamb, bidding the tears forever fare¬ 
well at the silent tomb, you enter into hitherto unknown and 
unspeakable joy. Singed, blistered and burned in the fiery 
trials to which all are exposed, when the “ wheel ” is broken 








HEAVEN. 


583 

at the “cistern,” and the sound of the grinding is low, then, 
and only then it is to be seen that your heavenly Father is but 
preparing you as with a “refiner’s fire, and like fullers soap” 
for that blessed abode where himself and angels dwell. And 
now that you may not grow weary in well-doing under the 
rod, forgetful and indifferent to your best interests, he by way 
of encouragement, and to show us that others have succeeded, 
calls our attention to those gone before, who are now at rest 
and in peace, saying: “ These are they which came out of great 
tribulation.” 

The surroundings of those in heaven, while they were in the 
earth, were just such as ours. But, with their “ feet shod with 
the preparation of the gospel of peace,” they worked and 
prayed, sung and wept, pressed forward and upward, though 
scourged and bleeding, they never once thought of giving up 
the battle, or furling the banner until the Master called them 
from the victory. They understood it well. Yes, they knew 
that “ the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and 
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” 

If there are no tears in heaven, and certainly there are none, 
then it must be a blissful place, a home where endless praise, 
triumph and joy, infinite glory, riches and knowledge, love, 
holiness and peace alone are known. And there can be noth¬ 
ing like this heavenly home. Now we cannot fully understand 
how it is, for “ we see through a glass darkly, but then face to 
face, now in part.” And also, “when he shall appear, we 
shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 

This knowledge and idea of heaven makes it appear to us 
as a most desirable home. We have already seen enough of 
this gloomy world, gloomy in comparison with heaven, that we 
surely ought not to regret an opportunity given us, to seek a 
more congenial habitation. Yes, to seek a place, where the 
so solemn funeral tread is not heard, and where there are no 
lacerated and bleeding hearts, no indescribable anguish and 
ceaseless flow of burning tears—a place, where there will be 
no more severing of endearing ties, wrenching, unmaning and 
torturing the soul—a place where friend fellowships with 
friend, and where the fullest confidence, harmony and love 
prevail, and where death never enters, must be regarded a 


584 


HEAVEN. 


blessed privilege and joy unspeakable. But whilst there are 
no tears in heaven and no use for them, they are of so much ser¬ 
vice to us here in this world. Indeed, without the watering 
of tears we cannot expect the succulent spiritual life, and 
obtain that degree of happiness and contentment so necessary, 
and which are a great help to us. in the performance of our 
duties toward God and man. Through the bitter interchang¬ 
ing scenes of human life, our attention needs to be arrested 
and turned to what God requires of our hearts and hands. 
And when through tears we have “put” our “ hands to the 
plow,” we will w never turn back.” This page of life is 
not blotted and blurred by weeping, but it is made brighter 
and brighter by the washing of it in tears. Often we stand 
on the precipice of ruin, and are just ready to fall over and 
down when God comes along with some great affliction, turns 
us subdued in another direction, softened and mellowed, ready 
to receive heavenly truth, consolation and sympathy. We get 
it now. Real consolation must be sought from a source higher 
than man, for God alone “ will wipe away tears from off all 
faces,” and make them shine brighter than the noonday sun. 

Tears of contrition, of sorrow and grief are but healing oint¬ 
ment to a troubled soul. David says of them: u My tears have 
been my meat day and night,” and again alluding to his soul, 
he further says, “Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise 
him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” 
Courage, my brother, courage. Let us labor and hope, for w T e 
shall not hope in vain to secure “ the mark for the prize of the 
high calling of God in Christ,” where tears are known no more 
forever. Thank God, in heaven there are no tears. 



NO NIGHT IN HEAVEN. 


REV. D. J. GREEN WALD, SABETHA, KANSAS. 


N THE Word of God the term night is used in a 
three-fold sense. It is used as the opposite of day, 
and means that part of twenty-four hours that 
make a full day according to our way of speaking 
which is excluded from the natural, regular and 
daily light of the sun. “ And God said, let there 
be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide day 
and night. * * * * And God made two great lights, the 

greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the 
night.” After the flood the promise was given to Noah and 
all mankind that “ as long as the earth remaineth, day and 
night shall not cease.” u In the day the drought consumed 
me, and the frost by night,” Job speaks of the night in this 
sense on various occasions; as when he says, “Weari¬ 
some nights are appointed to me,” and “ My bones are pierced 
in me in the night season.” In the seventy-fourth Psalm we 
read that “ The day is the Lord’s, and the night also.” And 
so on, repeatedly all through the Sacred Volume, night is used 
as the opposite of day. 

Then it is used as a figure of many and great adversities 
and trials, as where the prophet, Micah, says: “ Unto the 
prophets night shall come because of their falsehoods, and 
they shall not have a vision, and it shall be dark unto them, 
so that they cannot divine : and the sun shall go down over 
them.” Jeremiah in the opening of the book of Lamentations, 
speaking of the miserable estate of Jerusalem by reason of 
her sins, uses night in the same sense, saying: “ She weepeth 
sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks.” Jesus, in 
view of his bitter passion and great suffering during the 
closing days of his life on earth, speaks of it as night that is 
coming. 

The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, speaks of a 
night, meaning the night of ignorance and error as being far 
spent, and that the day—the day of gospel light and knowl¬ 
edge is at hand. 



38 







HEAVEN. 


586 

In his letter to the Thessalonians, speaking to believers in 
Christ, including himself, he says : “ We are not of the night, 
and ncft of darkness.” 

Now night, in this three-fold sense, was, is, and always will 
be in the world. Not so, however, in heaven ; “ For the City 
of our God hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon to shine 
upon it, for the glory of God lighteneth it, and the Lamb is the 
light thereof.” John, the Revelator, speaks plainly, directly, 
and unmistakably, in reference to it, when he says, *“ There 
shall be no night there.” 

There, no candle is needed, nor the light of the sun, for the 
Lord God, through the Son of Rrighteousness giveth light unto 
all them that are permitted to enter there. Jesus, while on 
earth, declared himself to be the light of the world, in the midst 
of the night of earth; much more, so will he be the light of 
heaven, where he himself liveth and reigneth forever more, 
u at the right hand of God the Father.” 

Reader, are you tired of the night on earth ? Be of good 
cheer, be willing and ready to be guided by the “ bright morn¬ 
ing star that arose in the East,” and soon you will be received 
into habitations where there is no night. Are adversities and 
afflictions making your life dark and night-like ? Remember 
that Jesus, your Master, overcame all these for you, and has 
entered that heaven where there is no night of adversity and 
affliction, giving you the promise that where he is, there shall 
you be also. 

Are you in error and sin, which darken your pathway, and 
make gloomy your prospects for time ? Remember that the 
day of gospel light and knowledge is at hand—receive it, and 
walk accordingly, and the night of error and sin will soon be 
over, and you will receive at the end of your earthly journey, 
u a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens, but 
prepared by your Heavenly Father, in which night is not 
known.” 

Let us thank God that whilst in this world we have to do 
with night and darkness. In heaven, our eternal home, all 
will be light and glory; for the Lamb of God, who is in the 
midst of it, lighteneth each and every inhabitant of the New 
Jerusalem. 


HEAVEN. 


587 


No night shall be in heaven; no gathering gloom 
Shall o’er that glorious landscape ever come; 

No tears shall fall in sadness o’er those flowers 
That breathe their fragrance through celestial bowers. 

No night shall be in heaven, but endless noon; 

No fast declining sun, no waning moon ; 

But there the Lamb shall yield perpetual light, 

’Mid pastures green and waters ever bright. 

No night shall be in heaven; no darkened room, 

No bed of death; nor silence of the tomb, 

But breezes ever fresh with love and truth 
Shall brace the frame with an immortal youth. 

No night shall be in heaven. 0, had I faith, 

To rest in what the faithful witness saith. 

That faith should make these hideous phantoms flee, 
And leave no night henceforth on earth to me!” 


THOUGHTS OF HEAVEN. 


I LOVE to think of heaven, it seems not far away, 

Its crystal streams refresh me as I near the closing day ; 

Its balmy winds are wafted from the heavenly hills above. 
And they fold me in an atmosphere of purity and love. 

I love to think of heaven, I long to jointhe choir, 

To sing the song of Jesus, my soul would never tire ; 

The loved ones gone before me, are joining in the song, 

They cast their crowns before the Lamb who sits upon the throne. 

I love to think of heaven, where the weary are at rest, 

No sorrow r there can enter the mansions of the blest: 

All tears are wiped away by the Savior’s loving hand, 

And sin and death are banished from the glorious, happy land. 

I love to think of heaven, and the greetings I shall meet, 

From the loving band of loved ones, who walk the golden street; 
And the Patriarchs and Prophets, I shall know r them every one; 
It is written in the Word, “ We shall know as we are known.” 





588 


HEAVEN. 


The gospel seer Isaiah and the plaintive Jeremiah, 

And Elijah, who ascended in the chariot of fire ; 

And Daniel the beloved, and the Hebrew children—three, 

The robed in white, and crowned, will be known by you and me. 

But oh, the rapturous vision, when our eyes behold the King, 

And hear the thrilling welcome, “Ye blessed enter in; ” 

Ten thousand suns encircle him, ten thousand crowns adorn, 

The sacred head that bow’d in death—the head once crowned 
with thorns. 

Assemble, all ye hosts, ye thrones, dominions, powers; 

There is no king like Jesus ! There is no heaven like ours ! 

All glory hallelujah ! let heaven and earth unite 
To celebrate his praises with infinite delight. 

— Wra. Pearce. 


THE EMPLOYMENTS OF HEAVEN. 



REV. ROBT. F. OPLINGER, A. M., DENVER, IND. 


HE QUESTION is often asked what will we do in 
heaven, and how will we spend our time, and 
employ our powers during the unending cycles of 
HJ eternity ? The question is one that naturally pre¬ 
sents itself to every thinking mind, and has led to 
much speculation on the subject. The Bible, 
whilst it gives us much information respecting 
heaven, and often refers to the employments of the saints in 
glory, no where reveals to us in exact language all we may be 
expected to do in our heavenly home, so that much room is 
left for conjecture. This much, however, we infer from the 
wonderful powers with which we are endowed, and the wide 
range and scope which they take already in this world, that it 
will not be a life of rest and inactivity. Man was evidently 
designed by the allwise Creator for a life of activity and use¬ 
fulness. Labor is not only dignified and elevating, but also 
necessary to health and happiness. The sluggard and idler 
can have no real enjoyment, but spends a miserable existence. 










HEAVEN. 


589 

As heaven is only a continuation of the existence we begin in 
this world, and as it will afford a much wider range for our 
powers than that which we now have, it is altogether presum¬ 
able that our future life will be one of much greater activity 
than the present. But in what particular way, or manner this 
activity will be employed we cannot now determine, but must 
patiently wait until we reach that blessed shore to know what 
our employments will be. 

It has been well said, “It is not probable in such a universe 
as this that there can be any lack of ample field for effort. 
God has not thrown worlds and systems of worlds from his 
creative hand, peopling universal space with material globes 
for nothing. Those twinkling points of light have some other 
object than to excite the wonder, or task the science of mortals 
on earth. We cannot doubt that God has peopled them all 
with sentient beings of intelligence. If so, there is ample 
enough space in this universe of God for eternal study, even 
though our minds are eternally progressing in capacity, and 
forever enjoy the mental and moral vigor of an archangel. It 
is not probable that launched abroad upon such a universe 
there will be any lack of created things, the study of which 
will forever reveal more and more of God; nor will there be 
any lack of intelligent beings with whom we may have the 
sweet intercourse of mind with mind, and heart with heart.” 

But whatever may be the work or service in which we will 
spend our eternity in heaven, it will be eminently one of love 
and praise. Love is one of the mightiest powers and forces 
on earth, giving to honest hearts peace and comfort, and is so 
essential to our happiness, that without it life would be devoid 
of all real enjoyment. It cheers every heart, comforts every 
soul, adorns every home, and imprints Christ-like features 
upon the vicious and rude barbarian. God himself is love, and 
when he created the universe, or planted the rose and lily it 
was in love. When the earth was fashioned for the habitation 
of man, and the only begotten Son of the Father was sent as a 
Redeemer, it was through love. Thus, in heaven, whether the 
astronomer shall delight to discover or explore other worlds, 
or the geologist range fTom planet to planet, and sun to sun, 
or whether the saint will, like Wesley said he expected to do, 
spend the first thousand years in beholding the face of Jesus, 


HEAVEN. 


590 

or whether the soul be engaged in singing the divine and never 
ending hallalujah, it will all be a work of love, of which we 
shall never tire. For the more we engage in and exercise it, 
the greater will be our capacity to love. We shall never 
grow weary of it; for the longer we continue in it, the greater 
will our delight be. Here on earth we “ look through a glass 
darkly,” and often tire and become weary, but in heaven we 
shall know as we are known, and flourish in immortal youth 
and vigor, and exclaim the half was not told of the wonderful 
love of God, to whom be all honor, praise, and glory forever, 
and ever. Amen. 


THE INHABITANTS OF HEAVEN. 


REV. E. P. HERBURCK, A. M., AKRON, 0. 


ANY BEAUTIFUL figures are employed to repre¬ 
sent heaven, but among them all the one that has 
ever had a peculiar charm for me is that of a city 
with golden streets and j asper walls. To the active, 
restless mind there is something attractive about 
a city with its eager throngs, hurrying to and fro, 
on business or on pleasure bent. The larger the 
proportions, the more absorbing is the interest. When I read 
of the New Jerusalem above which the angel measured, find¬ 
ing it fifteen hundred miles in circumference, I am impressed 
not only with its great dimensions, but with the vast number 
of inhabitants I conceive it must possess. London with its 
twenty miles of area, and its population of four million has 
something awe-inspiring about it; yet what is that compared 
with the upper city. Our thoughts stagger when we try to 
grasp it. It has been the end of their journey to a mighty 
company of earthly pilgrims, and is the destination of, per¬ 
haps, as many more. The philosopher Dick tells us that every 
second fifteen of the children of men pass away. Of these a 
fair proportion, at least, are bound for the u Celestial City.” 
The number is so great as to exceed our most liberal estimate. 












HEAVEN. 


591 


There is a street in Naples upon which, at almost any hour of 
the day, fifty thousand people can be seen—a motley crowd 
confusing to the eye. But this will bear no comparison with 
the throng on the great highway of salvation. Imagine your¬ 
self standing at the shining gate, an army approaches, five 
abreast and in rapid step. This army is not ten miles long or 
fifty miles long or a hundred miles long, but a hundred times 
a hundred, marching with ceaseless tread into the city of our 
God. For thousands of years this stream of mortals has thus 
been flowing on. What an aggregation there must be in the 
golden streets on high! “A hundred and forty and four thou¬ 
sand and thousands of thousands” does not number them. 

And who are they who comprise this multitude? “These 
are they which have come out of great tribulation, and have 
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb.” These are they who have been tried as by fire in the 
crucible of God, who have patiently borne the cross seeking 
the crown, who have fought valiantly the fight of faith and 
are now coming up to enjoy the victory. 

Standing on the steps of the heavenly temple, I see among 
those who walk the broad avenues of this New Jerusalem a 
noble company of philanthropists. With radiant countenance 
they move on toward the u Seat Supreme.” There is John 
Howard who devoted his time, his talents and his substance to 
his fellow-men, who sailed around the world in the interest of 
the unfortunate and the criminal, who visited prisons to 
ameliorate the condition of the convict and plunged into 
plague-infected hospitals to aid the suffering. There is Eliza¬ 
beth Fry, the benevolent soul, who stood in the front ranks of 
the women of earth, a very queen in moral beauty. She went 
among the vile and the outcast, associated with them, 
instructed them, plead with them and sought to lead them to 
Christ. There is Florence Nightingale, the sweet spirit, who 
hovered among the wounded and the dying on the field of 
battle, soothing their pain and comforting their hearts. 

I see also among the hosts of the redeemed a group of mis¬ 
sionaries. There is Eliot who labored among the savages of 
America, traveling through the trackless wilderness, exposing 
himself to the elements that he might teach the fierce Indians 
the will of God. There is Moffat, celebrated among men for 


HEAVEN. 


592 

his work in foreign missions. He gave up the comforts of 
civilization, and labored under the scorching sun of Africa 
that he might regain some of her sable inhabitants from the 
darkness of heathenism. Christians had conferred on him the 
title of hero, and now he enjoys the freedom of the heavenly 
city. 

A little further on is a band of martyrs. u They had trials 
of cruel mockings and scourgings, moreover of bonds and 
imprisonment; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, 
were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered 
about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, 
tormented.'” There are the multitudes who under Roman 
persecution sealed their faith with their blood. There are the 
heroes of Scotland, who in perilous times walked through the 
glens on weary feet and crawled up the crags on their hands 
and knees to evade despotic authorities. There are the saints 
of England, Hooper and Cranmer and Latimer, who died at 
the stake and whose last words, rising through the flames, 
were prayers for their murderers. 

Among this innumerable multitude are many, too, who have 
no illustrious name and can boast of no great achievements; 
invalids, widows and paupers, humble men and women who 
spent their lives in obscurity, patiently laboring and enduring 
for Christ. They have exchanged their rags for glittering 
raiment, their pain and sickness for eternal health, and now 
they move with agile step among the happy throng. 

There are also many there whom we knew and loved on 
earth, who prayed with us and with us bore the cross. Out of 
almost every family there is some soul gathered unto the Bride 
above. Glad lathers and mothers, blessed brothers and sisters, 
they eagerly wait for their kindred on high with all these glori¬ 
fied beings, the Triune in his temple, and the angels quick to 
serve him—what an attractive place this “ New Jerusalem 
from above ” is to every Christian. 

“0 city of the jasper wall and of the pearly gate, 

For thee amid the storms of life, our weary spirits wait. 

Oh, may we walk the streets of gold no mortal feet have trod; 

Oh, may we worship at the shrine, the temple of our God.” 


HEAVENLY MANSIONS. 



REV. L. B. L. LAHR, B. S., KINGSTON, 0. 


In 


my 


Father’s House are 


HRIST SAYS: 
many mansions.” 

The other world to which we are all hurrying, 
often-times seems as near to us as the azure 
expanse above us. Hope and fear, variously, draw 
us into close proximity to the mysteries of the 
future. It is an untrodden way, an untried state, 
a strange sphere, to us who dwell in the narrow vale between 
the mountain peaks of two eternities. No pilgrim has ever 
returned from that abode to describe to our anxious souls its 
scenes and conditions. The nature we inherit makes us aliens. 
Between here and there hangs a cloud of divine wrath. But 
out of the night comes the day spring; the cloud is rifted and 
the Son of Man comes, with hidden majesty and with truth 
that could only emanate from the throne, and places our feet, 
in hope, upon the threshhold of the heavenly palaces. After 
the Master had ascended, the world seemed very large to the 
trembling disciples in their loneliness, and very small with 
respect to its habitations for them. They were promised 
abundant persecution, toil and trouble, but no temporal emol¬ 
uments. They were princes in disguise, heirs of an everlast¬ 
ing kingdom. 

Christ went to his Father to prepare a place for all who 
would believe in him, to the end of time. If now the Chris¬ 
tians life is a pilgrimage, how necessary that there should be 
a shrine; if it is so often overcast with sadness, how welcome 
a perennial day; if it must be denied the vain pleasures of 
the world, how refreshing the delights of heavenly life; if it 
is often homeless and houseless, or if otherwise, it is only the 
world’s fragile structure, how resplendent, inviting, full of re¬ 
pose and comfort are the mansions in our Father’s house! The 
provisions for the future of the redeemed hosts are measure¬ 
less in extent. Their habitations are prepared with a royal 
munificence for all, regardless of any condition of race or 









594 


HEAVEN. 


caste. A house of many mansions is a forcible contrast with 
the contracted dwellings and crowded cities of the earth. 
Here we have the harrowing sight of hovels crowded with 
poverty and wretchedness. Misery and want stare at us out 
of every nook and corner. The palaces are few, and they are 
proud and exclusive. In the city of God, this world can never 
lay its selfish, monopolizing hands upon the possessions, nor 
spread the contagion of unhappiness. 

The soul is elated with the thought that there will be abund¬ 
ant room in heaven for all the children of God. The hosts, 
that will throng its portals at the last great day, will find the 
mansions so numerous and their area so vast, that they will 
realize more than the highest longings for liberty. Under 
such conditions, their powers will expand and exercise them¬ 
selves in an endless diversity of pleasurable occupations. 
None of our faculties will lay aside their office, for the flood 
of beauty and glory will be a constant impetus to activity. 
When we frame in hope the heavenly mansions, we do not 
present the image of barren, cold, and cheerless habitations. 
We have a refined taste for the beauties of nature and art, but 
the sublimest forms that ever challenged our attention, are 
the faintest types and shadows of the profuse and surpassing 
display in our Father’s house. The richest and most attrac¬ 
tive displays of earth’s glories are mean and worthless, when 
compared with the heavenly. We are simply lost in our 
search after conceptions and comparisons. We know that 
these mansions are not made with hands, for God is the builder. 
The foundations are true and eternal; the radiance from the 
throne is never dimmed by the gloom of night, but is “ sacred, 
high, eternal noon.” The isles, corridors and chambers extend 
to the limits of the universe. The vaulted centers loom away 
in mysterious heights. By many gates, the hosts of the 
redeemed go in and out the jasper walls. Want will always 
be a stranger in these mansions of bounty, for out of the 
midst springs the fountain of undying youth, and in the end¬ 
less summer-tide of Eden are found plenteously the bread 
that strengthens, and the fruits that delight. Those, whose 
crushed and saddened spirits never broke forth in melodious 
anthems below, will swell volumes of praise in that great 
assembly, which will reverberate with sweet surprises. 


HEAVEN. 


595 


With the sacred precincts of home are associated the deepest 
wants of our nature, wants so deep that they seem to consume 
jus ; but in the eternal home, they will be magnified, sanctified 
and satisfied. No spot in the earth gives birth to greater and 
more lasting blessings than the home; but it will be foun t 
after death that blessings had been, comparatively, an unknown 
boon of existence. The labors of loved ones here will be ex¬ 
changed for the restful activities in the mansions above ; cares 
and anxieties will have no place in the heavenly air of peace; 
the hopes and yearnings for the well-being of kindred and 
friends will have a joyous fruition in their final inheritance,, 
if the Christ of God is all in all with their hearts; the dear 
scenes and associations will be absorbed in a larger counter¬ 
part ; the dread uncertainties of life will all lie buried in the 
grave and receive an inheritance full of promise which faileth 
not. We are sundered far, sometimes by adversity, oftener by 
death; but we will meet again and forever in a common 
home. 

The eye can not see, nor the ear hear, nor the heart conceive 
of anything which can contribute to real, lasting human hap¬ 
piness, that the thoughtful and wise Father has not provide 1 
in his house. Then let the prodigal return, his Father meet¬ 
ing him on the way; let the pilgrim bend his weary fe t 
towards the holiest of shrines; let the obedient child continue 
to trust in that Parent's promises, until called to enjoy them * 
let the patient toiler press on and faint not, because of the rich 
reward in reserve. 

“ Let not your heart be troubled,” then he said, 

‘ My Father’s house has mansions large and fair; 

I go before you to prepare your place; 

I will return to take you with me there.” 

And since that, the awful foe is charmed, 

And life and death and glorified and fair: 

Whither he went, we know—the way we know, 

And with firm step press on to meet him there.” 


HEAVENLY RECOGNITION. 



REV. H. SHUMAKER, A. 31., HOLTON, KAN. 


ILL WE know each other in heaven? The moment 
this question is asked, two distinct things suggest 
themselves to the mind. The one, that it is not 
man’s prerogative to determine conclusively mat¬ 
ters relating to the spiritual economy of the celes¬ 
tial domain. The other, a spontaneous hope and 
conviction of a heavenly recognition which noth¬ 
ing can erase. As we grow in grace, and draw 
nearer to our God of love, the former suggestion 
becomes weaker and weaker, while the latter increases with a 
steady advance toward a consummated development, when 
we shall be finally admitted into our promised future estate. 

By heavenly recognition is meant that saints who are related, 
acquainted and identified with each other on earth, will again 
know one another in their heavenly abode, and retain the affec¬ 
tions associated with such an acquaintance. 

That such a mutual recognition and retention of affection 
may and will exist among the sainted inhabitants of heaven— 
is evidently the meaning and promise of certain portions of 
Scripture is generally conceded in all religions, and is not 
incompatible with the organization of associations. 

Though the Scriptures are not clear and emphatic in their 
statements upon this subject, there are strong inferences, if 
not conclusive evidence respecting it. And if the Divine 
Revelator speaks but once it is as certain, as if he had said it 
ten thousand times. 

In our Lord’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the 
former is represented in his place of torment as recognizing 
the latter in his state of glory, and even recognizes Abraham, 
though he never knew him personally, but doubtless knew 
him historically as the spiritual father of the faithful. He is 
also represented as having a distinct recollection of his domestic 
associations, and petitions that his five brethren yet living 
might be warned and delivered from the evil pending the 







HEAVEN. 


597 

impenitent. If he, with the impassable gulf between them, 
recognized Abraham and Lazarus, is it not more than probable 
that he would also know them if he were in the same state of 
happiness with them ? 

Paul expresses an expectation of a joyful recognition 
between himself and the souls of those he had been instru¬ 
mental in saving. He not only expected to know them, but 
anticipated glorified affections. “ For what is our hope, or 
joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence 
of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory 
and joy.” David, also in his affliction, speaking of his departed 
child, said, in a tone of inspired consolation: “ I shall go 
to him.” 

It is generally conceded in all religions. Pagans and uncivil¬ 
ized races almost universally expect it. It is said that “ thou¬ 
sands of Hindoo widows sacrifice themselves on the funeral 
piles of their deceased husbands, in the hope of enjoying with 
them the felicities of eternal life.” The North American 
Indians expect the Great Spirit to award them the privilege of 
meeting their fathers in the unknown hunting grounds. 

Theological writers of both the past and the present, are 
mostly of the same mind. Familiar are the illustrious char¬ 
acters of Olevianus, Baxter, Emmons, Bunyan, and others, 
who, just before closing their good fight on earth, expressed 
the undoubted confidence of meeting, knowing and loving 
their sainted friends in heaven. 

In the popular mind of Christians it has gained almost uni¬ 
versal assent. This is amply illustrated in the practical use 
of two popular songs of praise—the one asking the question, 
the other answering in the affirmative. Among the thousands 
of earnest Christian Sunday-school workers, young and old, 
in this and other lands, there are comparatively few who do 
not join in the responsive chorus: “We shall know, yes, 
know each other there.” And in religious revivals, when 
many experienced veterans of Christ’s army unite their sup¬ 
plications for an out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, are heard 
repetitions of the same thought in accents of holy joy and 
praise. To hear such a host of voices singing this sentiment 
in a spirit of praise, it would seem that not only the saints in 


HEAVEN. 


598 

glory, but even the angels could not refrain from sending back 
the echo: “We shall know, yes, know each other here.” 

A sentiment of such general favor and wide-spread adop¬ 
tion does not exist without a reason. A co-existent relation 
between the organization of our associations in time, and that 
of our promised association in heaven, is the primary and ulti¬ 
mate principle of its development. In the organization of our 
associations on earth we are endowed with peculiar faculties 
and capacities as sacred trusts, by which we can recognize one 
another as friends, and love one another as a part of our own 
nature. Impressions of recognition and affection often come 
upon individuals, as it were, by a secret and unknown cause. 
Yet they come not by chance nor altogether by human thought. 
They are the product of a divine and eternal law, and, though 
they may be modified by a change of circumstances, they can¬ 
not be wholly obliterated. These endowments—the faculty of 
recognizing and the capacity of loving—are given us for the 
purpose of promoting mutual confidence, true happiness and 
needful comfort in time, to the end of ultimate and perpetual 
glory. In their proper exercise, and in consequence of the 
attending divine principle which regulates them, they cannot 
but yield the intended fruit. 

In the organization of heavenly associations the same purpose 
is designed—our perfect happiness and the continued praise 
and glory to God. If these endowments are essential to the 
promotion of these interests in time, is it reasonable to suppose 
that they will be dispensed with in the future ? And, if the 
all-wise Creator saw proper to invest us with these sacred trusts 
to secure a taste of real happiness, and a beginning of a holy 
life on earth, with a longing desire for its continuation after 
death; is it likely that he will deprive us of them on our transit 
from earth to heaven when we have the promise of consum¬ 
mated bliss? The two organizations are so intimately con¬ 
nected that they are not incompatible with each other. For 
the one only begins that which is to be continued in the other 
in a higher and glorified state. And the dear and happy asso¬ 
ciations formed and begun in time will doubtless be perpet¬ 
uated in a more pre-eminent degree in our future and eternal 
abode. 

Then parents will again know their own offspring upon 


HEAVEN. 


599 


whom they bestowed many devotions and hopeful trophies. 
The children will fly to the mother’s bosom and the father’s 
right hand in innocence, purer than ever. Brother and sister 
will embrace each other with affections of heavenly purity. 
Saints who bore one another’s burdens in the Master’s cause 
will again join in the heavenly communion and gratitude to 
•God. The devoted pastor will know his people, whose souls 
he guarded against the vices and corruptions of the world, 
and they will know him whose joy they increased by their 
steadfast faith and hope in immortal glory. 

In conclusion, the comfort derived from this hope is better 
realized in the emotions of the heart than expressed in words. 
Its practice tends toward purer motives in domestic and Chris¬ 
tian relations. And as a moral effect, it sensibly leads the 
"believer to realize more perfectly the unbounded love of God 
whereby we are enabled to gather around the throne of the 
Lamb to render him homage and praise in company with the 
redeemed. u To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, 
amen!” 

“ 0 happy world! 0 glorious place: 

Where all who are forgiven, 

Shall find their loved and lost below, 

And hearts, like meeting streams, shall flow 
For ever one—in heaven.” 


I SHALL BE SATISFIED. 


N OT here ! not here! Not where the sparkling waters 
Fade into mocking sands as we draw near; 

Where, in the wilderness, each footstep falters, 

I shall be satisfied; but oh! not here! 

There is a land where every pulse is thrilling 
With rapture earth’s sojourners may not know, 

Where heaven’s repose the w r eary heart is stilling, 

And peacefully life’s storm-tossed currents flow. 

Satisfied? satisfied? The spirit’s yearning 
For sweet companionship with kindred minds, 

The silent love that here meets no returning, 

The inspiration which no language finds— 





600 


HEAVEN. 


I shall be satisfied. The soul's vague longings, 

The aching void which nothing earthly fills ? 

Oh ! what desires upon my soul are thronging 
As I look upward to the heavenly hills. 

Thither my weak and weary steps are tending. 

* Savior and Lord ! with thy frail child abide, 

Guide me towards home, where all my wanderings ended, 
I then shall see Thee, and “ be satisfied." 

— Anonymous . 


SHALL WE KNOW EACH OTHERWHERE? 


W HEN we hear the music ringing 
In the bright celestial dome— 
When sweet angel's voices, singing, 
Gladly bid us welcome home 
To the land of ancient story, 

Where the spirit knows no care : 

In that land of life and glory— 

Shall we know each other there ? 

When the holy angels meet us 
As we go to join their band, 

Shall we know the friends that greet us 
In that glorious spirit land ? 

Shall we see the ‘Same eyes shining 
On us as in days of yore ? 

Shall we feel the dear arms twining 
Fondly round us as before? 

Yes, my earth-worn soul rejoices, 

And my weary heart grows light, 

For the thrilling angel's voices 
And the angel faces bright, 

That shall welcome us in heaven. 

Are the loved of long ago; 

And to them 'tis kindly given 
Thus their mortal friends to know. 

Oh, ye weary, sad, and tossed ones, 
Droop not, faint not by the way ! 

Ye shall join the loved and just ones. 

In that land of perfect day 





HEAVEN. 


601 


Harp-strings, touched by angel fingers 
Murmured in my raptured ears, 

Evermore their sweet song lingers— 

“We shall know each other there.” 

— Anonymous. 


MAN AS REDEEMED AND PERFECTED IN HEAVEN. 



REV. L. M. KERSCHNER, M. S., APPLE CREEK, 0. 


HE WHOLE aim of revelation is to show the joy 
and perpetuity of redemption complete and per¬ 
fect through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Man need not trust himself to any Icarean wing 
of imagination on this subject for an adventurous 
flight. Divine revelation is the guide, and religious 
faith, with steadfast steps and unfaltering strength, shall bear 
him up to the u Mount Zion which is above.” It has well 
been observed If meditation on the invisible and eternal 
world, is liable to any abuse, or may degenerate into insipid 
or presumptous conceits, it is only when revelation is lost 
sight of.” 

The revelation of the Christian mystery, “ God manifest in 
the flesh,” as our Redeemer, this, and this only, can give im¬ 
pulse and substance, hope and reason, to our meditations on 
the heavenly state. It is in Christian revelation alone, that 
man sees the door opened in heaven and beholds the throne 
of his Maker, around which the redeemed, perfected and re¬ 
splendent, are bending with the angels in joyful adoration. 

The place where he now takes his stand of observation is 
far in advance of Eden, Olives, Gethsemane and Calvary. 
Far beyond death, aye, the resurrection, and the judgment. 


The grave is behind not before him. Long! long ago it has 
been despoiled, and forced to yield up its treasure. The con¬ 
flagration of the world, and dissolution of the elements are 
among the things that are past. All that is meant by the new 
heaven and earth, has actually come. All that Christians 
have longed for, and sometimes with bewildered and tremb- 


39 











602 


HEAVEN. 


ling apprehension, has emerged from the regions of faith into 
sight, and from a trembling hope into a bright fruition. Man, 
as we now behold him, in that farthest point, to which the in¬ 
spired volume carries our sight, is not the same form as that 
with which to-day we are familiar, which now “ sees through 
a glass darkly.” It is not suffering, crippled, deformed, dis¬ 
eased, dying; it is not bent, clad in rags, with the face soiled by 
dust, sweat and tears. Nor yet is it the form as last we saw 
it, when with gentle hands, and sorrowing hearts we bore it 
cold, pallid, lifeless, bound with grave clothes to the tomb. 
It is an ethereal form, a glorious body arrayed in strength and 
light, clothed in honor and immortality, of which the poet 
might well say, 


“ Creature all grandeur, Son of truth and light 
Up from the dust, the last day is bright— 

Bright on the holy mountain, round the throne— 

Bright where in borrowed light, the far stars shone! 
Look down, the depths are bright, and hear them cry— 
Light—light—look up ; ’tis rushing down from high— 
Regions on regions, far away they shine; 

’Tis light ineffable, ’tis light divine— 

Immortal light and life for evermore.” 


Such is the account given in revelation of the reality and 
perfected work of redemption in its glorious results; when 
joyfully man shall answer in active praise the love which is 
active in his redemption. Then, indeed, in that world shall 
he “ see face to face and know as also he is known,” and be made 
like unto the glorious body of Christ the joyous, happy child 
of God. 


NO SECTS IN HEAVEN. 



TALKING of sects quite late one eve, 
What one and another of saints believe, 
That night I stood in a troubled dream 


By the side of a darkly, flowing stream, 
And a “ Churchman” down to the river came, 
When I heard a strange voice call his name; 

“ Good father stay when you cross this tide, 
You must leave your robes on the other side.” 





HEAVEN. 


603 


Bat the aged father did not mind, 

And his long gown floated out behind, 

As down to the stream his way he took, 

His hands hold firm of a gilt-edged book, 
I’m bound for heaven, and when I am there, 
I shall want my book of Common Prayer; 
And though I put on a starry crowm, 

I shall feel quite lost without my gown. 


Then he fixed his eyes on the shining track, 
But his gown was heavy and held him back, 
And the poor old father tried in vain 
A single step in the flood to gain. 

I saw him again on the other side, 

But his silk gown floated on the tide, 

And no one asked, in that blissful spot, 

If he belonged to “ The Church ” or not. 


And down to the river a Quaker strayed, 

His dress of sober hue was made, 

“ My h^t and coat must be all of gray, 

I cannot go any other way.” 

Then he buttoned his coat straight up to his chin, 
And steadily, solemnly waded in, 

And his broad-brimmed hat he pulled down tight, 
Over his forehead, so cold and white. 


But a strong wind carried away his hat, 

And he sighed a few moments after that, 

And then, as he gazed to the farther shore, 

The coat slipped off and was seen no more; 

Poor, dying Quaker, thy suit of gray 
Is quietly sailing away, away, 

But thou’lt go to heaven as straight as an arrow, 
Whether thy brim be broad or narrow. 


Next came Dr. Watts with a bundle of psalms, 

Tied nicely up in his aged arms, 

And hymns as many—a very wise thing, 

That the people in heaven, “all round ” might sing. 
But I thought he heaved an anxious sigh, 

As he saw that the river ran broad and high; 

And looked rather surprised, as one by one, 

The psalms and hymns in the waves went down. 


m 


HEAEVN. 


And after him with his MSS, 

Came Wesley, the pattern of godliness, 

But he cried, dear me, what shall I do? 

The water has soaked them through and through. 
And there, on the river, far and wide, 

Away they went on the swollen tide, 

And the saint, astonished, passed through alone,. 
Without his manuscripts, up to the throne. 


Then gravely walking two saints by name, 
Down to the stream together came. 

But as they stopped at the river’s brink, 

I saw one saint from the other shrink. 
Sprinkled, or plunged, may I ask you, friend,. 
How you attained to life’s great end? 

“ Thus with a few drops on our brow,” 

But I’ve been dipped, as you’ll see me now. 


And I really think; it will hardly do, 

As I’m close communion, to cross with you, 
You are bound, I know, to the realms of bliss,. 
But you must go that way and I’ll go this. 

And straightway plunging with all his might, 
Away to the left—his friend at the right, 

Apart they went from this world of sin, 

But how did the brethren enter in ? 


And now where the river was rolling on, 

A Presbyterian church went down ; 

Of women there seemed an innumerable throng,. 
But the men I could count as they passed along, 
And concerning the road they could never agree,. 
The old and new way which it could be; 

Nor ever a moment paused to think 
That both would lead to the river’s brink. 


And a sound of murmuring long and loud 
Came ever up from the moving crowd, 

“You’re in the old way, and I’m in the new, 
That is the false, and this is the true,” 

Or, “ I’m in the old way, and you’re in the new„ 
That is the false and this is the true,” 

But the brethren only seemed to speak, 

Modest the sisters walked and meek.. 


HEAVEN. 


605 


And if ever one of them chanced to say, 

What trouble she met with on the way, 

How she longed to pass to the other side, 

Nor feared to cross, over the swelling tide, 

A voice arose from the brethren then, 

“ Let no one speak, but the holy men 
For have ye not heard the words of Paul: 
xt 0 let the women keep silence all.” 

I watched them long in my curious dream, 

Till they stood by the border of the stream, 

Then, just as I thought, the two ways met, 

But all the brethren were talking yet, 

And would talk on, till the heaving tide 
Carried them over, side by side; 

Side by side, for the way was one, 

The toilesome journey of life was done, 

And priest and Quaker, and all who died, 

Came out alike on the other side, 

No forms, or crosses, or books had they, 

No gowns of silk, or suits of gray; 

No creeds to guide them, no MSS, 

For all had put on “ Christ’s righteousness.” 

— Mrs. Elizabeth H. Jaclyn. 


VEILED ANGELS. 


UNNUMBERED blessings, rich and free 
Have come to us our God, from thee. 

Sweet tokens written with my name 
Bright angels from thy face they came. 

Some came with open faces bright, 

Aglow with heaven’s own living light. 

And some were veiled, trod soft and slow, 
And spoke in voices grave and low. 

Veiled angels, pardon ! if with fears 
We met you first, and many tears. 

We take you to our hearts no less; 

We know you came to teach and bless. 





606 


HEAVEN. 


We know the love from which you come; 

We trace you to our Father’s home. 

We know how radiant and how kind 
Your faces are, those veils behind. 

We know those veils one happy day 
In earth or heaven shall drop away; 

And we shall see you as you are 
And learn why thus ye sped from far. 

But what the joy that day shall be 
We know not yet; we wait to see 

For this, 0, Angels ! well we know, 

The way ye come, our souls shall go. 

Up to the love from which ye come, 

Back to our Father’s blessed home. 

And bright each face, unveiled shall shine, 

Lord, when the veil is rent from thine. 

— Mrs. Charles. 


THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN. 


REV. WILLIAM SMITH, B. S., FT. SENECA, 0. 


F WE were about to emigrate to some distant 
country we would naturally make many inquiries 
about it. No one would take his goods, his family 
and friends to a land of which he knew nothing. 

A wise and thoughtful man would gather all the 
information he could before undertaking a journey 
like this. He would endeavor to find out all he 
could in regard to the soil, whether it was fertile, or barren, 
sandy or clayey, hard or easy to cultivate. He would inquire 
as to the surface of the country, if it was level like the broad 
prairies of the West, or hilly and rolling, with springs and val¬ 
leys, rivers and lakes, irrigating it, and so adding to its fertil¬ 
ity, and making it more picturesque and beautiful. Or if the 
surface is still more broken, with here and there, lofty ranges 
of mountains, like the Alps, covered with perpetual snow, 










HEAVEN. 


607 

demonstrating the wisdom and power of him who made them. 
He would also make inquiry as to the inhabitants in order 
that he might know something of their character whether civ¬ 
ilized or barbarous, warlike or peaceful, Christian or infidel. 
In these and other ways he would seek to gain all the inform¬ 
ation he could of the country to which he was about to emi¬ 
grate before starting on his way. 

In like manner, the Christian, who is expecting sooner or 
later to emigrate to the heavenly Canaan, the land where 
righteousness, peace, purity and love dwell should seek all the 
knowledge he can respecting it. And, although, not one of all 
the millions that have gone to this goodly land, has ever re¬ 
turned to give us any information respecting it, we may ac¬ 
quire much knowledge of it from the revelation which God 
has been pleased to make in the Bible if we diligently study 
it. Taking this as our guide, we learn, first, that heaven, 
whether viewed as a place, or state, is a country of vast 
dimensions, having ample room for all who may emigrate 
thither. For if to be in the presence of God is heaven, it must 
be boundless, as no limits can be set to his presence which is 
everywhere. In the vision which John had of heaven he saw 
a great multitude, which no man could number. And yet, 
although millions more have since gone there from every part 
of the habitable globe, there is room for all, who have their 
robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. 

Following the Bible as our guide, we learn in the next place 
that heaven has many attractions in the employments of its 
inhabitants which consist in the service and worship of God in 
their highest and most perfect form, giving infinite delight 
and pleasure to all, without producing the least weariness or 
fatigue ; for they that are before the throne of God, praise him 
day and night in his temple. 

Heaven has also many attractions in itself, being according 
to the description which John gives of it, u The holy Jerusa¬ 
lem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of 
God, and her light like unto a stone most precious, even 
like unto a jasper stone clear as crystal.” We try in this 
world to make our cities attractive by buildings of brick 
and stone, and beautifying them with yards filled with 
trees and flowers; but heaven far exceeds them all, for 


HEAVEN. 


608 

the “building of the wall of it was of jasper, and the city 
was pure gold, like unto clear glass, and the twelve gates 
were twelve pearls, every several gate was of one pearl, 
and the street of the city was pure gold as it were transparent 
glass.” Here we labor diligently and spend money lavishly to 
erect temples in which to worship God. And after all our 
care and labor they are very imperfect; but in heaven there 
will be no need of such structures, for u the Lord God 
Almighty and the Lamb are the light of it. And it had no 
need of the sun nor of the moon to shine in it; for the glory 
of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” 

Of all the descriptions the Bible gives of heaven, this is the 
most important and the most expressive. Here in life we 
wander and are surrounded on all sides with thick darkness, 
so that we are often in doubt which way to go ; but in heaven 
there shall be no night, no gloom, no fears, nor sorrow. 

Again, the character of the people inhabiting heaven will 
add to its attractiveness; for although gathered from every 
nation, people and tongue, they are all of one mind, heart, and 
character; for they are all like Christ, and as such, will enjoy 
each other’s society and fellowship, being on a perfect equality 
one with the other. How blessed it will be to hear Moses tell 
of his many trials in his journey with the children of Israel 
through the wilderness, and of his lonely hours on Mount 
Nebo, from which he was permitted to see the goodly land! 
How delightful it will be to hear Abraham tell of his wonder¬ 
ful trial, when at the command of God he took his son Isaac, 
whom he so dearly loved, and went to the mountain to which 
he was directed to offer him as a sacrifice ; to hear Joshua tell 
of the conflicts he had with the Canaanites, and how the Lord 
delivered them in his hands; to hear Elijah tell of his ascen¬ 
sion in the chariot of fire ; Paul of his shipwrecks and impris¬ 
onments ; the martyrs and confessors of the deaths they suf¬ 
fered, and the testimony they bore to the name and religion of 
Jesus; and above all how much more blessed it will be to hear 
the Savior himself, the blessed One, the King Eternal, tell of 
his voluntary humiliation, his conflict with Satan, and death 
upon the cross as a ransom for the sins of the world, making 
it possible for all who will to be saved. 

It is also a country that hath foundation, whose builder and 


HEAVEN. 


609 

maker is God, and will, therefore, be permanent. Many peo¬ 
ple have lost their country; but this will endure forever, be¬ 
cause God is its king and defence. 

But the greatest of all the attractions of heaven will be the 
presence of God the Father, who created us; God the Son, who 
redeemed us; and God the Spirit, who sanctified us, with 
whom we shall have the most intimate intercourse, and fel¬ 
lowship for evermore. 

“We speak of the realms of the blessed, 

The country so bright and so fair, 

And oft are its beauties confessed— 

But what must it be to be there ? 

We speak of its pathways of gold, 

Of its walls decked with jewels so rare, 

Of its wonders and pleasures untold— 

But what must it be to be there ? 

1 

We speak of its service of love, 

The robes which the glorified wear, 

The Church of the First-born above— 

But what must it be to be there ? 

Do thou, Lord, midst pleasure or woe, 

For heaven our spirits prepare ; 

Then soon shall we joyfully know 
And feel what it is to be there.” 


NOT HALF HAS EVER BEEN TOLD. 


I HAVE read of a beautiful city, 

Far away in the kingdom of God; 

I have read how its walls are of jasper, 
How its streets are all golden and broad. 
In the midst of the street is life’s river, 
Clear as crystal, and pure to behold; 

But not half of that city’s bright glory 
To mortals has ever been told. 





610 


HEAVEN. 


I have read of bright mansions in heaven, 

Which the Savior has gone to prepare; 

And the saints, who on earth have been faithful, 

Rest forever with Christ over there; 

There no sin ever enters, nor sorrow, 

The inhabitants never grow old, 

But not half of the joy that awaits them, 

To mortals has ever been told. 

I have read of white robes for the righteous, 

Of bright crowns, which the glorified wear, 

When our Father shall bid them, “ Come enter, 

And my glory eternally share 

How the righteous are ever more blessed, 

As they walk thro’ the streets of pure gold; 

But not half of the wonderful story, 

To mortals has ever been told. 

I have read of a Christ so forgiving, 

That vile sinners may ask and receive 
Peace and pardon from every transgression, 

If, when asking, they only believe. 

I have read how heTl guide and protect us, 

If for safety we enter his fold ; 

But not half of his goodness and mercy, 

To mortals has ever been told. 

— Rev. J. B. Atchinson. 


JERUSALEM, THE HEAVENLY CITY. 



REV. A. H. LEISS, DUNFEE, IND. 


ERUSALEM, IN which the temple of Solomon was 
built, and in which a number of important events in 
the life and ministry of our Savior took place, was 
a figure and type of the heavenly Jerusalem, the 
the city r of our God, where all the redeemed shall 
at last gather and dwell. It is of this we now 
propose to speak, and would invite the reader’s 
attention to the eternal realities of this beautiful city, which 
John saw coming down out of heaven, when he was carried 
away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, in order that 










HEAVEN. 


611 

we may have a proper conception of its splendor and glory. 
And what a sublime and graphic description he gives us of 
this city in the vision which he records in the Book of Reve¬ 
lation, which surpasses all the grandeur and glory of any 
earthly city. 

It is a city of vast and wonderful dimensions, the walls, 
gates, streets, pavements and foundations surpassing the lofti¬ 
est conceptions of the mind. We read of many great and 
populous cities in the past, such as Babylon, Nineveh, Athens, 
Borne and Alexandria. They were, no doubt, wonderful 
structures, and contained many buildings of great splendor 
and architectural skill, with their massive walls, the con¬ 
struction of which is still a marvel and wonder. We have 
also great and populous cities at the present day, such as 
London, Paris and New York. And yet great as they are, 
and many as are the inhabitants thereof, they all dwindle 
into insignificance when compared with the heavenly Jerusa¬ 
lem, in which John tells us u he saw a great multitude which 
no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peo¬ 
ple, and tongues, before the throne, and before the Lamb 
clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands,” dwelling 
and commingling together in the greatest freedom, happiness, 
joy and contentment, singing “with a loud voice and saying, 
Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
the Lamb,” by whom we have gained our heavenly birth¬ 
right, and been adopted as the children of God. 

When we first look upon lofty buildings and massive struc¬ 
tures, we are impressed with their magnificence, but upon a 
closer inspection we find we have only been looking upon 
dead material, stones shaped and polished by the hammer of 
the mason, boards smoothed and planed by the carpenter, and 
colored by the brush of the painter. Not so, however, with 
the heavenly city whose builder and maker is God, and of 
which Christ is the light and the glory, having a brilliancy far 
surpassing the light of the sun, or of the moon, or of gas or 
electricity, whose streets, walls and gates are of gold and 
pearls, which can never decay nor grow old, so that it will 
never lose its beauty or freshness. No offering which we can 
bring, however costly or precious, can be a fit tribute to him 
who merits all our praise for having redeemed us with his 


HEAVEN. 


612 

blood and admitted ns to the privileges of this heavenly city. 

It is also a city pure and holy, into which nothing that 
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie shall enter. Being free 
from all manner of sin and vice, there will be no need of any 
police force to keep order, or military cohorts to guard its 
sacred precincts. There will be no political intriguing, or 
scheming on the part of one to take advantage of the other. 
No watchmen or sentinels will be required, as there will be 
no tumult or confusion in the streets. All will be order, har¬ 
mony and peace. The hymns and anthems that will be sung 
will be chanted in the sweetest strains of heavenly minstrels 
wfith a tranquility and pathos, such as could only be produced 
by pure and sanctified lips. Christ will be arrayed in his full 
glory, and be worshiped by all the inhabitants of the city who 
will bring the laurels and trophies they won in their conflict 
with sin and Satan and lay them down at his feet. All strife 
and contention will be for ever at an end, and every crown 
will be eternally brightened by the lustre of the royal diadem. 
All will be holy, as he is holy, and be satisfied when they 
awake in his likeness. All will be fully and perfectly happy, 
and rejoice with joy unspeakable in the presence of him 
whose throne is infinite mercy, supreme love and divine 
justice. 

As a climax to the whole, the city will be permanent and 
enduring, having been built upon a foundation which no 
power of earth or hell can move. The inhabitants go in and 
out with the greatest security, knowing that nothing shall 
ever deprive them of their inheritance. A king once asked, 
as he was riding in royal splendor through his vast dominion, 
what is wanting to add to my full and complete happiness? to 
which his courtier replied: One essential element is want¬ 

ing, which is permanence .” ITow true of all earthly glory 
and happiness. It is transient and evanescent. The glory of 
heaven is permanent and everlasting. 

“Jerusalem, my Home, 

Where shines the royal Throne, 

Each king casts down his golden crown 
Before the Lamb thereon. 

Thence flows the crystal River, 

And flowing on forever 


With leaves and fruits on either hand, 

The Tree of Life shall stand. 

In blood-washed robes, all white and fair, 
The Lamb shall lead his chosen there, 
While clouds of incense fill the air— 
Jerusalem, my Home. 

Jerusalem, my Home, 

Where saints in glory reign, 

Thy haven safe, 0 when shall I 
Poor storm-tossed pilgrim, gain? 

At distance dark and dreary, 

With sin and sorrow weary, 

For thee I toil, for thee I pray, 

For thee I long alway. 

And lo! mine eyes shall see thee, too; 

O, rend in twain, thou veil of blue, 

And let the Golden City through— 
Jerusalem, my Home!” 


OUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS ON ENTERING HEAVEN. 


REV. GEO. W. WILLI ARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


VERY ONE asks himself in his quiet hours, when 
musing upon heaven, what will be my first im¬ 
pressions and feelings when I enter its blessed 
abode? We all have some idea of the feelings of 
delight we had when we first gazed upon some 
beautiful landscape, or city; w T hen introduced into 
the company of friends, or when we met some 
t dear one from whom we had been long separated. 
But what w T ill be our feelings when first we enter heaven ? 

Many answers may be returned to this question, as one may 
anticipate one thing, and another something else. John New¬ 
ton is said to have remarked that three things would astonish 
him when he would enter heaven—he would miss some 
whom he confidently expected to meet there—he would meet 
others whom he did not think would be there, and more than 
all, he would be surprised to find himself there, a miracle of 













614 


HEAVEN. 


grace. There will, no doubt, be many others who will share 
in the same feeling of astonishment on entering heaven. 

One thing may be premised as true of all who may be for¬ 
tunate enough to enter heaven that their first feeling will be 
one of surprise at its surpassing glory and excellence, causing 
them to exclaim in rapture— 

And is this heaven ? and am I here ? 

How short the road? how swift the flight? 

I am all life, all eye, all ear; 

Jesus is here, my soul’s delight. 

Is this the heavenly Friend, who hung 
In blood and anguish on the tree ? 

Whom Paul proclaimed, whom David sung? 

Who died for them, who died for me ? 

As the Queen of Sheba, who came from afar to see and 
hear the wisdom of Solomon of which she had heard so much, 
was astonished to find that the half had not been told, so all 
those who enter heaven will then fully realize the truth of 
what Paul said when he wrote to the Corinthians, “ Eye hath 
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of 
man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love 
him.” Lofty as our ideas of heaven may be when we think 
of the absence of tears, night, sorrow, grief and pain, and of 
the light and glory that will beam from the face of God and 
the Lamb, surpassing the brightness of the sun, and diffusing 
universal joy and gladness, they will necessarily fall far short 
of the reality, so that the first feeling on entering heaven will 
doubtless be one of surprise at its transcendent excellence. 

Intimately associated with the feeling of astonishment at 
the surpassing glory of heaven, it will be a feeling of surprise 
at the richness and freeness of the grace of God in the prepa¬ 
ration of a place like this for them that love him. We often 
speak of the interest which parents take in the comfort and 
well-being of their families, when we see to what pains and 
expense they go in building large and spacious residences, 
fitting them up and beautifying them in every possible way. 
But how insignificant and worthless are all the palaces and 
homes of earth when compared with the mansions of glory in 
our Father’s house, purchased by the suffering and death of 
his beloved Son upon the cross, and prepared by his entrance 


/ 


HEAVEN. 


615 

into glory at his own right hand. O the richness and freeness 
of the grace that sought and found us in our lost estate, 
washed and redeemed us by the blood of Christ from every 
stain of sin, and fitted us for an eternal residence in such 
blissful abodes! Who can conceive of the astonishment of 
the saints as they enter heaven and think of the boundless 
love that brought them there? Well may they sing with rap¬ 
ture and delight, “ unto him that loved us, and washed us 
from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and 
priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and domin¬ 
ion for ever and ever. Amen.” 

We can all call to mind with pleasure the impression which 
the music of some well-trained choir, or band of Jubilee 
singers made upon us when we sat enraptured by the soul-in¬ 
spiring strains which they poured fourth; but who can con¬ 
ceive the astonishment and delight of the saints as they enter 
the portals of the heavenly world and the first notes of the 
redeemed fall upon their ears, “ as the voice of a great multi¬ 
tude and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of 
mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God 
omnipotent reigneth.” What will be the impression and rap¬ 
ture of delight which the music of heaven will produce u as 
the mighty chorus comes swelling up, the notes trembling 
along the hills, and echoing over the plains,” no mortal can 
describe as there will be a sweetness in it transcending the 
power of the imagination. 

Equally difficult is it for us, with our notions of earthly great¬ 
ness and grandeur, to imagine the surprise and delight of the 
saints, when their eyes first open upon the celestial city, the 
new Jerusalem, with its pearly gates, golden streets, many 
mansions, dazzling light, the tree and river of life, the throne 
of God and the Lamb, and the millions of white-robed inhabi¬ 
tants from every land and nation, with palms in their hands 
and crowns upon their heads. To enter a city with such 
floods of glory breaking in from every side with the conscious¬ 
ness that it is to be our eternal home must be associated with a 
joy that is utterly indescribable. 

And yet blessed and transporting as all this will be, it will 
be lost in the superior joy of the saints as they behold the 
King in his glory, and see Jesus coming to meet them with 


616 


HEAVEN. 


smiles of heavenly radiance in his face, and crowns of victory 
in his hands; saying, u Well done good and faithful servant, 
enter in and be for ever blessed.” 

u O who, in view of such ecstacy as this, can describe the 
astonishment and delight of the redeemed as they pass 
through the pearly gates of the new Jerusalem and enter 
upon their eternal reward? How insignificant are all the 
joys and pleasure of earth in comparison with such an ex¬ 
ceeding eternal weight of glory? Well has the poet said: 

“ Go wing thy flight from star to- star, 

From world to luminous world, as far 
As the universe spreads it flaming wall; 

Take all the pleasures of all the spheres, 

And multiply each through endless years, 

One minute of heaven is worth them all.” 


THE HEAVENLY REST. 


T HERE is an hour of peaceful rest, 
To mourning wanderers giv’n : 
There is a tear for souls distressed, 

A balm for every wounded breast; 
’Tis found alone—in heav’n. 

There is a home for weary souls, 

By sins and sorrows driv’n ; 

When toss’d on life’s tempestuous shoals. 
Where storms arise—and ocean rolls, 

And all is drear—but heav’n. 

There faith lifts up the tearless eye 
The heart with anguish riv’n ; 

It views the tempest passing by, 

Sees evening shadows quickly fly, 

And all serene—in heav’n. 

There fragrant flow’ers immortal bloom. 
And joys supreme are giv’n ; 

There rays divine disperse the gloom. 
Beyond the dark and narrow r tomb 
Appears the dawn—of heav’n. 





KINGS AND PRIESTS UNTO GOD. 


REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D. TIFFIN, OHIO. 


I OFTEN hear the remark that it “ takes all kinds 
of people to make a world.” A little observation 
convinces us that we have all kinds of people in 
this world of ours; the rich and the poor, the 
young and the old, the good and the bad, the 
learned and the unlearned, the high and the low, 
the white and the black, the temperate and the 
intemperate, the liberal and the illiberal, the Greek 
and the Roman, Ac. There is no type we may set up, whether 
it be good, bad, indifferent, wise, ignorant, covetous, but what 
has its counterpart. We have all kinds and classes of people. 

In some portions of the world, as in India and Egypt, broad 
lines of distinction are set up between the different classes or 
castes as they are called, over which none are permitted to 
pass except to their shame and degradation. 

Go wherever you will, whether in Asia or Africa, in Europe 
or Oceanica, in North or South America, you will find the 
different classes of people to which we have referred. What 
may have been the cause or causes of this great diversity, 
and whether it will ever in the distant future cease, or whether 
it will continue to the end of time, are questions which have 
puzzled the greatest ethnologists, without leading to any gen¬ 
eral agreement. 

As these distinctions exist in every part of the habitable 
globe, it was, no doubt, a marvel and a wonder to the Cartha- 
gnians when Cineas was sent to Rome in the days of its glory 
by Pyrrhus, that he should have reported on his return that he 
had seen “ a commonwealth of kings.” Whoever before or 
since ever heard of such an anamoly, as a commonwealth of 
kings, of nobles, of wise or of good men. The thought is con¬ 
trary to all our ideas and notion of things as they exist in this 
world. The commonwealth of kings spoken of by Cineas 



40 







HEAVEN. 


618 

existed only in his imagination, for Rome, even in its best days, 
like all other nations, exhibited a great diversity in its 
inhabitants. 

But contrary, as all our notions are to a commonwealth of 
kings, we have the idea fully realized in the heavenly world, 
which, although peopled by a great multitude which no man 
can number from all nations and lands is made up wholly of 
such as are kings and priests unto God, with crowns on their 
heads and palms in their nands, clothed in white garments. 
For whatever may have been their character, creed, or social 
position here on earth, whether rich or poor, learned or 
unlearned, Reformed or Lutheran, Methodist or Presbyterian, 
Episcopalian or Quaker, they are now all one in Christ, having 
dropped and left their peculiarities of creed and nationality as 
they crossed the river of death, so that they all unite in the 
anthem of praise “ to him that loved them and washed them 
from their sins, and made them kings and priests unto God. 

From what the Bible tells us of heaven there will be no dis¬ 
tinctions there like what we see herein this world. Wherever 
we look around us we see the most discordant elements at 
work, causing great confusion and strife, riches and poverty, 
plenty and want, capital and labor, virtue and vice, are all the 
while more or less arrayed against each other. Some live at 
their ease, having an abundance of this world’s goods at their 
command, wdiilst others have not where to lay their heads. 
Some are clothed in purple and fine linen, and fare sumptu¬ 
ously every day, whilst others suffer from hunger and want. 
Some rule with an iron rod, and rejoice in the oppression of 
their fellow man, whilst others are watching every opportunity 
to hurl them from their thrones and places of trust. Look 
where we may, we see society in a state of agitation and com¬ 
motion, not unfrequently ending in strife and bloodshed. No 
tongue can tell the vast numbers slain in war, nor calcu¬ 
late the amount of oppression and suffering produced by am¬ 
bition and greed. But in heaven there will be nothing of this 
kind, as sin has never entered into its blissful bowers, nor pro¬ 
duced any of its direful effects there. There we will see none 
of the invidious distinctions, and inequalities that meet us 
here on every side. None will there be clothed in rags or suf¬ 
fer want; for all will be made kings and priests unto God, and 


HEAVEN. 


619 

"be arrayed in royal apparel, and will be bound together in the 
ties of common brotherhood. How the heart sighs and longs 
for this goodly land, when it is made to smart under the 
wrongs and oppressions to which we are here often subject. 


REST IN HEAVEN. 


REV. M. LOUCKS, A. M., DAYTON, OHIO. 

HE CHRISTIAN rejoices to know that he shall be 
among the ransomed in the mansions of heaven. 
He is assured that his condition there will be far 
more blessed than his earthly probation. He has 
the promise of an eternal rest for his weary soul. 
How different will be the home in heaven from 
the one on earth ! Man is here to toil and labor. 
He is there to cease from weariness. k ‘ In the land of the 
immortal fatigue is never known.” Oh! who would not 
delight to tread the golden streets of the New Jerusalem ! 
Who would not desire to see the city of our God, the mountain 
of his holiness? u Thou, Lord art worthy to receive power, 
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, 
and blessing,” for providing such a rest for mortal man. 

The rest in heaven will be one of unceasing joy, and endless 
bliss and happiness. It is an everlasting withdrawing from 
the scenes and realities of our earthly life. It is a reposing 
under the refreshing bowers of a glorious paradise. It is a 
departure from tabernacles made with hands, and a happy 
and triumphant entrance into a higher sphere of existence, 
into those bright mansions of creation’s Architect, where the 
u wicked cease from troubling and the wear} r be at rest.” It 
is the laying aside of mortality, and the assuming of a blessed 
immortality. Spurgeon says of the heavenly rest, u Christian, 
the hot day of weariness lasts not forever ; the sun is nearing 
the horizon ; it shall rise again with a brighter day than thou 
hast ever seen, upon a land where they serve God day and 
night, and yet rest from their labors. * * * Here the 










HEAVEN. 


620 

Christian is always unsettled ; there all be at rest; they have 
attained the summit of the mountain ; they have ascended to 
the bosom of their God.” 

Our rest here is but partial; there it shall be perfect. The 
change will be great; for here we become weary and fatigued 
by the least possible exertion; there we can labor and be at 
work forever and feel not that we are dissipated and exhausted. 
All the powers of our being will have reached their destiny 
only in the realms of glory. All the jarring and constant dis¬ 
turbing of harmony will be ended, and man will attain that 
true and noble end for which he was originally intended. 
The powers of the soul will only be perfectly free when its 
flight to yon bright world has been accomplished. There will 
be nothing to disturb a peaceful and tranquil mind, while in 
the flesh man’s physical, intellectual, and moral being will not 
be fully developed, and it is only after its admission into 
heaven that it will be perfect in all respects. So then the 
heavenly rest pertains to the faculties of body and soul. Man 
as man will enjoy perfect liberty, will meet with no objects to 
perplex his body or mind. 

The heavenly rest! Oh, who would not long to participate 
in it ? Who would not desire to be in the land of the pure 
and holy ; there where angels worship and sing ; there where 
Jesus, the risen Redeemer, sits in majesty, swaying his scep¬ 
ter of love o’er a blood-washed heavenly host ? Oh ! to be in 
that land where the inhabitants are constantly engaged in 
chanting sweet songs of praise. Oh ! to mingle with all the 
ransomed host of earth and the pure spirits of heaven in their 
anthem of joy, w Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who 
was, and is, and is to come.” 

But for whom is this rest prepared? u There remaineth a 
rest for the people of God.” Here is the answer to the ques- 
tian, and all that is yet required is, who are the people of God ? 
Only those can assume this name, who are by a true and living 
faith in Christ, the Redeemer of the world, united to God. 
Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh 
to the Father except through him. The sinner must become 
reconciled to God through the divinely ordained means, and 
not until these conditions are complied with does any one 
belong to the people of God. That phrase sounds exclusive 


HEAVEN. 


621 


to the hardened sinner's ears. It says to him, “No hope for 
thee, unless thou come to the throne of grace, to the foot of 
the cross, there to lay thy burden down, there to renounce the 
world, the flesh and the devil.” 

Precious thought, that to the Christian remains a rest, a rest 
from fears, troubles, labors, and sorrows; a rest beyond the 
confines of time and sense in that long and endless eternity. 
Shall we not all strive to enter there ? Shall we not live in 
time to fit ourselves for eternity ? Truly, this is our duty, and, 
in the spirit of the apostle, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a 
promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should 
seem to come short of it.” 


BRINGING OUR SHEAVES WITH US. 



REV. G. W. H. SMITH, B. S., XENIA, 0. 


T IS a beautiful sight to see the husbandman, after 
having labored for months reaping his fields and 
gathering the heavy sheaves into the granary as 
the reward of his toil and care. He forgets the 
fatigue and weariness of the past in the joy of the 
present moment. A beautful illustration this is of 
the joy of the redeemed when they shall enter 
heaven, bringing their sheaves with them, and laying them 
down at the feet of the Lamb, who places a star in their crown 
of rejoicing for every soul they have won. 

God has placed us all in this world to do good and be useful 
to others. No one is to live merely for himself. For a Chris¬ 
tian to be concerned only for himself—to save his own soul 
and nothing more—and come to heaven at last with a starless 
crown, if this were possible, is any thing but a pleasing antic¬ 


ipation. No one can conceive of a soul entering heaven with 
a starless crown, who does not at the same time associate 
with it, the thought of the Savior asking why this is so, as all 
are expected to bring some sheaves with them. 

There is no one who may not do good to his fellow-men in 
some way or other, if he will but use the talents he has, and 









622 


HEAVEN. 


improve his opportunities aright. God has so constituted and 
united us in the ties of a common brotherhood, that none can, 
if he were even so disposed, pass through, the world without 
leaving his impress upon others for good or evil. Every word 
we speak, as well as every act we perform, has some influence 
upon those with whom we associate. A word of sympathy to 
a brother in distress, a piece of bread given to the hungry* 
and a cup of water to the thirsty, although they are acts small 
in themselves, they are not forgotten and without effect. 
Bound together, therefore, as we are with common sympa¬ 
thies and affinities the world affords a grand field for cultiva¬ 
tion, where we may sow our seed in the hope of bringing our 
sheaves with us in the great harvest of the last day. 

It is a precious thought connected with our subject that no 
labor pays so well as that which is performed in the Lord’s 
vineyard. There is much work done in the ordinary walks of 
life, many fields plowed and sown from which a poor harvest 
is reaped. It is different, however, with the labor spent in 
the Lord’s service; for they that sow in faith and hope are 
sure to return, bringing their sheaves with them. 

Let us imagine the faithful pastor making his way up to 
the throne of God. He has been scattering his seed wherever 
he has gone, whether in the palaces of the rich, or in the 
hovels of the poor, and has watered it much with his prayers 
and tears. He has preached the word in season and out of 
season, warned the impenitent, and encouraged the saint. 
He has been with his flock in seasons of joy and sadness, and 
led them by the still waters and green pastures. He has been 
out in the highways of sin, inviting all with whom he has 
been brought into contact, into the fold of the good shepherd. 
And now, after a long and weary life, the Master calls him 
home. He joyfully meets the summons, gathers up his 
sheaves, and takes them with him. Many meet him at the 
gates of the celestial city and welcome him as their spiritual 
father, while others come after him, and join in the song of 
gratitude for what he has done. The chief Shepherd meets 
him and welcomes him to the rest of heaven. 

The fond mother, who has spent a life of care and anxiety 
for her children, taught them early to lisp the name of God, 
and put their tender feet in the path of righteousness, and 


HEAVEN. 


623 


offered many a prayer that they might be kept in the good 
way; the Sabbath-school teacher who has diligently taught 
the children committed to his care the holy Scriptures which 
are able to make them wise unto salvation, and sought in 
every possible way to bring them to Christ; the faithful elder, 
who has stood by the side of his pastor, full of faith and the 
Holy Ghost, watching every opportunity to do good and 
advance the interests of Christ’s kingdom, whether by word 
or deed; the pious, active layman who, like the excellent 
Harlan Page, can call to mind scores of helpless, wandering 
souls he has led to Christ, with every one that has been dili¬ 
gent in the Master’s work, scattering seed by the way, will all at 
last come home with joy and gladness, bringing their sheaves 
with them, rejoicing in the blessed truth, that those who turn 
many to righteousness shall shine for ever as stars in the 
firmament of heaven. 

The subject is one full of interest and encouragement, and 
should teach us all the importance of engaging heartily in the 
work of the Lord, that we may reap a rich harvest of joy in 
the last great day, when the Master will come to make up his 
jewels in the earth. Blessed is that servant whom when his 
Lord cometh he shall find in such a state! 

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, 

Sowing in the noontide, and the dewy eve; 

Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping, 

We shall come, rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows, 

Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze ; 

By and by the harvest, and the labor ended, 

We shall come, rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master, 

Tho’ the loss sustain’d our spirit often grieves; 

When our weepings over, he will bid us welcome, 

We shall come, rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, 

We shall come, rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Knowles Shaw. 


CHILDREN IN HEAVEN. 


REV. E. R. WILLIARD, A. M. GERMANTOWN, 0. 



MONG ALL the subjects pertaining to heaven, 
few are more universally interesting than that of 
the dear children in that blessed home of God and 
the redeemed. Who has not some little jewels of 
their heart’s love, that they believe are now in the 
Beulah-land ? 

It is not the will of our Father in heaven that 
even one of earth’s little ones should perish, and the same 
great Teacher of Nazareth, who taught the world this precious 
truth about children, has also said that “ of such is the king¬ 
dom of heaven.” 

We doubt not but that there are myriads of children in 
heaven. Who would have it otherwise ? True, the death of 
a precious little child is one of the very hardest shocks to a 
mother’s heart, and, even though we have heard nothing but 
the prattling of infant lips from them, yet there is no grief so 
poignant or so lasting as that, which is caused by the death of 
the darling child. But here, we may yet see a blessed fulfill¬ 
ment of the promise that “ all things work together for good 
to them that love good ; for that which causes our greatest 
and deepest earthly sorrow, will possibly minister most glori¬ 
ously to our rejoicing in heaven. As the earthly home is the 
darkest, when the little ones have sickened and died, so 
heaven will doubtless be the brightest with that vast multi¬ 
tude of children there,” which no man can number, out of 
every nation, and all tribes, and peoples, and tongues, around 
the throne and before the Lamb. 

A very large proportion of the human race die in infancy 
and childhood. The ravages of death in these two periods 
are startling and frightful. But, blessed is the comfort, which 
God’s word and the instinctive feelings of our own hearts give 
us ! They die to live! 

Children are an essential element in the ideal human home. 
As they were the pride of the typical home in ancient Israel; 








HEAVEN. 


625 


as they were “ the jewels,” richest and rarest among all the 
princely treasures of the Roman Empress ; so, in the family, 
as God intended it, and as it is in its highest ideal of excel¬ 
lence and honor, children constitute one of the most important 
factors for the purest joy, and the complete realization of the 
happy and good home. And if they are such an essential ele¬ 
ment in the family on earth, could we think of there being 
no children in the great family of our race in heaven ? With¬ 
out them, the earthly home may be filled with much that is 
graceful and refined; like a garden, it may have many fine 
walks and arbors, but it is a garden without flowers. What, 
then, will our Father’s house in heaven be, filled with those 
who are infants, without weakness and without wants, and 
clothed upon with all the beauty and loveliness of angels; 
and who, like murmuring ripples, which serve to swell the 
voice of many waters, when they break upon the shore, shall 
bear their humble part in heaven’s immortal song ? As, of 
that great multitude, who have already gone from earth to 
heaven, they form the vast majority, it is obvious that we 
fail to do u justice to the subject of heaven itself, if we ignore 
so important an element in the redeemed society.” 

“ Oh, when a mother meets on high 
The babe she lost in infancy, 

Hath she not then, for pains and fears— 

The day of woe, the watchful night— 

For all her sorrows, all her tears— 

An overpayment of delight? ” 

Perhaps some may ask for proofs of the salvation of all 
children; that all, who die in infancy and childhood, will be 
eternally and gloriously saved. The child is not responsible 
for the infidelity and scepticism of his father, any more than 
he is responsible for some bad habit, or for some sinful crime 
committed by that father, while his little prattling boy is 
crawling about at home ; nor is the child in any way responsi¬ 
ble for any moral or religious negligence, or wrong about his 
mother’s character and life. 

One reason why we believe in the salvation of all, who die 
as infants and children, is because we can not honestly and 
conscientiously believe anything else than this in regard to 
their eternal destinies. To think that God will punish the sin- 




626 


HEAVEN. 


ner and the rebel against divine authority; to think that a 
man shuts the door of heaven against himself when he shuts 
Christ, the only begotten and well-beloved Son of God, out of 
his heart and life ; to think that the infidel, the ungodly, the 
unconverted and unregenerated man will surely be lost, if he 
does not repent and is not born again by the Holy Spirit; and 
to think of the state upon which men enter in the other world 
as an unchangeable state, and the judgments and verdicts of 
Christ on the great day of human reckoning as being absolute 
and final; all this I can believe, and the purest, most candid 
and unbiased human reason says this is just, right and fair for 
both man and God, after all the possibilities, opportunities and 
helps for salvation and moral development and the achieve¬ 
ments of the grandest destinies, which every intelligent, 
responsible man enjoys in all lands, where the Christian relig¬ 
ion has become established in power and influence, and 
wherever a Christian civilization reigns. But to believe that 
God will suffer little children to be lost; that Christ has made 
no provision for regeneration and salvation of those, who die 
in infancy and childhood; that those, who have done no evil 
thing, and whose earthly existence was cut off by death before 
they attained years of intellectual understanding and moral 
accountability, and who have therefore had no moral proba¬ 
tion on earth, shall be out of heaven eternally; at such 
thoughts, man’s purest and best nature revolts, and what man 
can not bring himself to believe, when he tests it by the most 
honest, the purest and best instincts of his conscience and 
reason, we claim must be false. If, as Shakespeare says, that 
man is fit for strategems, treasons and spoils, whose soul finds 
no delight in music, what kind of a nature must that man have, 
and what must he not be fit for in the catalogue of unmanly 
things, who could think of any little child ever being shut out 
of the gates of heaven ? 

The Scriptures evidently teach us that those who die in 
infancy and childhood, will be saved. The ideal of human 
character, which Christ set before his disciples was that of 
the little child. The praises of none filled the soul of Jesus 
with more joy and rapture than the songs and the glee 
of the children, as they sang “ Hosanna to the Son of David ! ” 
It is only in the light of the belief in the salvation of all, who 


HEAVEN. 


627 

die as infants and children, that we are able to give an intelli¬ 
gent and satisfactory explanation of the teachings of Paul 
in that wonderful fifth chapter of his epistle to the Romans. 
The apostle first draws a parallel between Adam and Christ; 
the one brought sin into the world; the other brought right¬ 
eousness unto men. “As by one man's offence” sin has been 
brought upon all children in their very birth from sinful 
parents, and as this sin has been entailed upon them in a way 
over which they have had no control, and hence are in no way 
to be held responsible for it, even so by the atonement of 
Christ the free gift of his righteousness shall be given to all 
who die in infancy and childhood, even though they may not 
lay hold upon redemption through Christ, by any act of intel¬ 
ligence or will on their part. When we consider that fully 
two-fifths of the human race die as infants and children, it is 
in their salvation and assured entrance into heaven that we 
can see how it is that, where sin abounded, grace did much 
more abound. Thus it was, as Jesus hung on the cross and 
thought of the myriads of children saved through his redeem¬ 
ing grace, that he saw of the travail of his soul and was satis¬ 
fied. And then, to prove unanswerably that the kingdom of 
heaven is to be largely and mainly cotnposed of'children, 
Jesus said, “ of such is the kingdom of heaven,” and as the 
Apostle John tells us of the vast multitude of the saved 
“ around the throne of the Lamb ” in glory, he mentions first 
u the small ” and then “ the great ” among the saints and the 
redeemed through Christ. 

The testimony of Christian writers upon this point, as to 
what the Scriptures teach in regard to the salvation of those, 
who die as infants and children, is interesting. Dr. Watts 
well says, “ I cannot find in the whole book of God, one sylla¬ 
ble of the punishment of infants, either in their souls or 
bodies affer this life ; all in a world to come, whether it be in 
a separate state or at the resurrection, falls upon those only, 
who have been guilty of actual personal transgressions and are 
proper subjects of a judgment.” 

Rev. John Newton says, u I think it at least highly probable 
that when our Lord says , 4 Suffer little children to come unto 
me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven,’ 
he does not only intimate the necessity of our becoming little 


HEAVEN. 


628 

children in simplicity, as a qualification, without which, as he 
expressly declares in other places, we cannot enter into his 
kingdom, but he here informs us of a fact, that the number of 
infants, who are effectually redeemed unto God by his blood, 
so greatly exceeds the aggregate of adult believers, that, com¬ 
paratively speaking, his kingdom may be said to consist of 
little children.” 

That prince among the world’s theologians, John, Calvin, 
tells us in his Institutes of Theology, that “ when Christ says, 
u suffer little children to come unto me,” nothing can be plainer 
than that he intends those, who are in a state of real infancy. 
And to prevent this from being thought unreasonable, he adds 
of such is the kingdom of heaven. All those, whom Christ 
blesses, are exempted from the curse of Adam and the wrath 
of God; and, as it is known that infants were blessed by him, 
it follows that they are exempted from death.” 

Well, therefore, does the most illustrious of all Scotch 
divines, Rev. Dr. Thomas Chalmers exclaim: u Tell us if 
Christianity does, not throw a pleasing radiance around our 
infant’s tomb ? And should any parent who reads these lines, 
feel softened by the touching remembrance of a light that 
twinkled a few short months under his roof, and at the end of 
its little period expired, we cannot think that we venture too 
far when we say, that he has only to persevere in the faith 
and in the following of the gospel, and that very light will 
again shine upon him in heaven.” 

Travelers, who have visited and explored the Catacombs at 
Rome, those caves or immense vaults in the rocky regions, 
underneath that ancient city, where the dead were buried, 
and where the Christians met for worship in the days of their 
awful persecution, tell us that the most common representa¬ 
tion of Christ in the paintings on the walls of the Catacombs 
is that of the Good Shepherd. So death, as he gathers his in¬ 
numerable trophies among the infants and children of our 
race, reveals Jesus most familiarly as the Good Shepherd, who 
gathers the lambs into his arms, and carries them in his bosom. 
These little ones are safe in his keeping ; and many a mother, 
who bent over her child, and wished that her boy could always 
remain a child, and then saw her darling sicken and die, may 
yet have that wish gratified in the kingdom of God. “ Heaven 


HEAVEN. 


629 

has many joys,” says Dr. Bethune in his u Early Lost, Early 
Saved,”— u joys which no man has seen or could express; and 
all its joys must be from beholding the glory of the Lamb, as 
it sheds blessing, and beauty, and truth over all; but, it were 
worth centuries of Christian service and trial here to reach at 
last the threshold of our Father’s house, and look in upon the 
happy family of his little children, growing in wisdom, and 
strength, and praise under his delighted eye and perfect 
teaching.” 


THE ANGELS. 



REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


| NGELS ARE the highest order of created intelli¬ 
gences of whom we have any knowledge. They 
were doubtless created before the material uni¬ 
verse, and witnessed the wonderful display of the 
power and wisdom of God in the creation of all 
things. As man may be said to occupy a place 
midway between the world of matter and spirit, 
so the angels intervene between man and God. 

According to the teaching of the Bible they were created 
holy and pure as was man when he first came from the hands 
of God, and were also placed in a state of probation; some 
retaining their original purity, while others fell and are re¬ 
served in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great 
day, so that we have what are called good and bad angels. 

It is in regard to the good angels that we here propose to 
speak, constituting, as they do, a large portion of the inhabi¬ 
tants of heaven. Whether they have a material organization, 
or are purely disembodied spirits, we know not, as the Bible 
gives us no positive information upon the subject. They are, 
in all probability, beings of a much higher order than man, 
and excel him greatly in wisdom, power and moral purity, 
and approximate much nearer the perfection of Deity. Hav¬ 
ing remained for thousands of years in their original purity 
u in a world where there is no night; where the perceptions 









HEAVEN. 


630 

of the mind are clear; where truth reigns without any admix¬ 
ture of error; where moral evil exerts no obscuring influence; 
where the plans of Providence are unfolded, and the divine 
perfections are disclosed; where, in worship, in studies, or in 
ministries of love, their activity has known no cessation.” It 
is altogether presumable that their capacities have become 
greatly enlarged and that their knowledge, although limited, 
is vastly superior to that of the most gifted of mortals, or 
even of the spirits of the just made perfect. 

The same is true in regard to their holiness, that having 
been originally created with greater capacities than we, and 
having remained steadfastly in the state in which they were 
created, advancing from one degree of perfection to another 
by the uninterrupted communion they have had with God, 
and the constant exercise of all their powers in his service; it 
is natural to suppose that they do not only greatly excel us in 
moral purity, but that they have also become confirmed in 
their estate and are beyond the possibility of falling, so that 
they will for ever continue in their present blissful abode. 

The Scriptures in many instances give us intimations of their 
great strength and power, speaking of them as principalities 
and powers, and as excelling in strength, and as having in¬ 
fluence over both mind and matter and performing acts which 
it would be vain for men to attempt. 

Being thus superior to us in knowledge, holiness and 
strength, we can see that they are fitted and capacitated by 
the very constitution of their being to aid and assist us who 
are so inferior to them in things pertaining to our salvation, 
so that the apostle affirms of them that u they are all minis¬ 
tering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs 
of salvation.” 

It is certainly a most precious thought to us who dwell in 
this world of sin and sorrow, of doubt and fear, of danger 
and temptation that there are around and about us innum¬ 
erable beings of such superior powers and attainments who 
are ever watching, guarding, defending, strengthening, and 
inspiring us with new resolutions and purposes in our strug¬ 
gles-and conflicts with the world, sin and Satan, and are thus 
helping us on toward the full realization of all our hopes in 
the better land, the heavenly Canaan. What mistakes, 


HEAVEN. 


631 

errors, backslidings, and ills of a thousand kinds these min¬ 
istering spirits, preserve and deliver us from, we will only 
know when we mingle with them in the sweet and everlasting 
intercourse we hope to have with them during the unending 
ages of eternity. 

We may also see how this ministration of the angels to the 
saints on earth will mutually fit and prepare them for com¬ 
panionship and intercourse in heaven, even though they may 
be different in the order of their being, the one class having 
retained their original purity, and thus having no sin from 
which to be redeemed, while the others fell from their first 
estate, became involved in transgression and sin, and so 
needed to be washed and cleansed by the blood and Spirit of 
Christ. Yet different as they may be there is every reason to 
believe that they will commingle in their heavenly home 
with the greatest freedom and intimacy, and rejoice in each 
others perfected happiness and bliss. 

The angels having witnessed a great rebellion in heaven, 
and seen their ranks decimated by the banishment of the 
devil and his associates, we need not wonder that they sang 
and shouted for joy at the creation of our world, as they, no 
doubt, saw that God might, and in all probability would, peo¬ 
ple it with a race of beings from which he would replenish 
his kingdom with those, who like themselves, would be happy 
in his love and fellowship. And when man, in like manner 
sinned against God, and fell under his displeasure, thus bar¬ 
ring himself from his blissful presence, there is reason to 
believe that the angels, on being made acquainted with the 
divine purpose and plan of redemption, sang a hew and 
sweeter song of praise to God for this amazing display of his 
grace, than they did at the creation of the world, and that 
they henceforth became deeply interested in the recovery and 
restoration of the race to the forfeited favor of their Lord and 
King, and, therefore, rejoice more over the repentance of one 
sinner than they do over ninety and nine just persons that 
need no repentance. 

The angels, according to the New Testament Scriptures, 
engaged with great pleasure and delight in ministering to 
Christ during his humiliation. They foretold his coming, 
announced his advent upon the plains of Bethlehem in the 


632 


HEAVEN. 


sweetest strains that had ever fallen on mortal ears, they min¬ 
istered unto him, when fasting in the wilderness, and tempted 
by the devil, they were with him on the mount of transfigur¬ 
ation, strengthened him when faint and weak under the 
dreadful burden of divine wrath against sin in the garden of 
Gethsemene, were doubtless around and about him when he 
hung upon the cross, watched his grave, rolled the stone from 
off the door of the sepulchre in which he laid, witnessed his 
resurrection, and attended him in his ascension to the right 
hand of God, singing as they went, 

Lift up your heads, ye everlasting doors, 

And let the King of glory in. 

There is every reason to believe that the work and mission 
of Christ have and do now enlist the deepest sympathy and 
interest of the angelic band, and that whenever any soul is 
redeemed and prepared for glory, they convey the departing 
spirit to their heavenly home and give it an introduction to 
the blood-washed throng around the throne of God and the 
Lamb. 


WILL THERE BE DISTINCTIONS AND GRADATIONS 
IN HEAVEN? 



REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


ROM WHAT we know of heaven it will consist of 
the blessed Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy 
Ghost; the angels, and the spirits of the just made 
perfect. Our blessed Savior, in speaking on one 
occasion of the future state and condition of the 
righteous, says, “Neither can they die any more; 
for they are equal unto the angels, and are the 
children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” 
They are all equally angels and saints, the children of God, 
and are perfectly happy in his presence. 

There are some who, seeing the different terms used in the 
Bible in reference to the inhabitants of heaven, where they 
are spoken of as thrones, dominions, principalities and powers, 













HEAVEN. 


633 

angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, spirits of the 
just made perfect, &c., entertain the idea that heaven is a 
kind of hierarchy consisting of a variety of grades and orders 
of being, subordinate one to the other. As the expressions, 
however, which are used in this connection are vague and in¬ 
definite we can come to no certain conclusion respecting the 
matter. Augustine, who is regarded as a great light in the 
church, did not venture even an opinion upon the subject as 
may be inferred from what he says: “ What difference there 
is between these four words (thrones, dominions, principali¬ 
ties and powers) let them tell us who are able, so they prove 
what they tell us ; but for my part I confess I know not.” 

As the Scriptures, therefore, make no clear revelation on 
the subject, leaving it in uncertainty, we may conclude it has 
no great practical value, and that it is better for us to wait 
patiently until we enter our heavenly home, when all will be 
made plain to us. 

The following remarks cover the subject so fully that we 
give them for the benefit of the reader: “We know that 
there can be no distinctions there, which can gratify ambi¬ 
tion ; or, on the other hand, engender jealousy and envy. 
Every one will know and love his own station; will be satis¬ 
fied with it, and desire no change. It has been thought that 
the Word of God teaches that some among glorified human 
spirits will be exalted to higher glory than others; and some 
have even maintained the superiority of the saints to the 
angels in heaven. But whether either of these opinions be 
true or not, we cannot think them important, or they would 
have been more clearly revealed, or have received greater 
prominence in the Scriptures of truth. It is more important 
for us to know that the society of heaven will be perfect. 
There will be no clashing interests, no emulations or strifes 
there. Saints and angels will know and love each other, and 
will be perfectly happy in each other’s society. In one sense, 
they will be perfectly equal; they will be perfectly holy, as 
well as immortal. There will be nothing to prevent the 
sweetest intimacy, and the most perfect communion of soul, 
on the part of those who compose ‘ the whole family in 
heaven.” There will not only be the closest, and most 
endearing intimacy between saints, but between saints and 


41 


HEAVEN. 


634 

angels. Eternity will be spent in the closest fellowship, in 
the interchange of holy thought and services. We shall not 
only recognize old friends and form new acquaintances among 
saints of other ages and countries, but we shall become 
familiar acquaintances and companions with angels—those 
ancient, wise, and holy servants of God. Happy, infinitely 
happy, and joyful themselves, their companionship will be a 
source of unspeakable bliss to all who are admitted to a share 
in it. Their knowledge, their recollections of the past, their 
experience of the divine mercy, their confidence in God, their 
wise and holy conversation, will make them both profitable 
and delightful companions. They know that they shall 
always enjoy the love of him whom they have always faith¬ 
fully served. The birth-place and home of every joy, our 
4 Father’s House,’ is their everlasting abode; and, therefore, 
they must be blessed, and their society blissful.” 


HEAVEN A PLACE WHERE ALL WILL BE RIGHT. 


REV. E. HERBRUCK, PH. D., DAYTON, OHIO. 



HENEYER I think of heaven and all its glories 
and attractions, I couple with it the idea of a place 
where all will be right, where the inequalities of 
earth are not known, and where the distinctions 
that now exist among men shall all be done away 
with. Differences and distinctions exist in the 
world, and they have been the cause of innumera- 
bles troubles and heart-breakings, but the glory of 
heaven is greatly enhanced by the knowledge, that 
there these are not known. All will be on an equality. Here 
this has not been the case. We have been oppressed, despised, 
disappointed, men have imposed heavy burdens upon us, and 
we have been made to feel that we were insignificant, that we 
had no right which our superiors were bound to respect. Well, 
all this will not be known up there. There will be no dis¬ 
tinction in society in heaven, and we shall stand among kings 











HEAVEN. 


635 

and nobles with as good a title as they. No difference what 
our condition was here, however, poor, however lowly, there 
we shall wear a crown. 

We have in our mind now two pictures. We stand upon an 
eminence. To one side we see a mansion. Gardens and groves 
surround it.. Its inmates know only luxury. Every want is 
supplied. They stand aloof from the poor of the neighbor¬ 
hood. They dash by them in their splendid equipage with 
haughty look. Upon the other side we see the hut of a poor 
man, the slave of the proud man of the mansion. Everything 
about that hut indicates poverty. The children cry for bread. 
When they are burning with fever, money is wanting to buy 
that which they need. We ask now, will this state of things 
never be righted ? Is the poor man to be poor forever ? Is 
the rich man to Lord it over him for an eternity? No ! No ! 
It remains true as ever that u the first shall be last, and the 
last first.” The time will most surely come when the poor 
man shall be rich as his lord, and when the yoke of oppression 
shall be removed from his neck. 

What comfort would man have in the idea of heaven, if he 
was not assured that there would be an end to all his trials ? 
If he knew that the distinctions now existing would exist for¬ 
ever, and that he would be compelled to bear the contumely, 
and scorn of men in another sphere he would rather go into 
oblivion. But this shall not always be. Heaven is a place 
of adjustment. That which has not been right here shall be 
righted there. The mind lingers around that thought. There 
is satisfaction in it. We are living here upon a shattered 
world. A deformed, effeminate race is born here. They live 
here. They oppress each other. They die here. But in 
heaven no damaged thing is found. Everything there is in per¬ 
fect equilibrium. The ceaseless unrest of this world is not 
known. Things are just as they should be, and as a wise God 
desires them. How our spirits long for that land when we 
remember the disappointments of this. We can appreciate the 
language of the Psalmist when he sighed. “ 0 that I had the 
wings of a dove, for then would I fly away, and be at rest.” 
We wander here as exiles in the darkness, and in the shadow 
of death. No day ever dawns wherein we are free from the 
wicked devices of men, and how few moments we have that 


HEAVEN. 


636 

are radiant with the light of an eternal morning. How we tire 
in the toilsome way. We long for a place of rest, of perfect 
quiet and ease. We long for a righted nature, a righted soci¬ 
ety, and heaven will be the only place where we will find it. 
Yes, heaven will make all things right. It is the healer of all 
our woes. The comforter of all our troubles. The place 
where our tears will be wiped away. Where our broken 
hearts will be healed, and our discordant spirits tuned to the 
harmonies of the heavenly land. Yes, heaven will be a place 
where the poorest of us will be rich, the most ignorant know 
as much as the highest archangel, and where our bent and 
deformed bodies will be made strong and straight as the cedars 
of Lebanon. The bereaved wife will find her companion, the 
child its parent, the sister her brother, and the things that 
seemed so dark and unjust to us here will all be cleared away 
in the light of heaven. Is it any wonder then that our hearts 
go out in longing, and that we say with the poet,— 

“ Jerusalem the golden ! 

I languish for one gleam 
Of all the glory folden 
In distance and in dream ! 

My thoughts, like palms in exile, 

Climb up to look and pray 
For a glimpse-of that dear country. , 

That lies so far away. 

Jerusalem the golden! 

Methinks each flower that blows, 

And every bird a-singing 
Some secret of thee knows. 

I know not what the flowers 
Can feel, or singers see, 

But all these summer raptures 
Are prophecies of thee. 

Jerusalem the golden! 

When sun sets in the West, 

It seems thy gate of glory, 

Thou city of the Blest! 

And midnight’s starry torches, 

Through intermediate gloom, 

Are waving with their welcome 
To thy eternal home. 


HEAVEN. 


637 


Jerusalem the golden! 

Where loftily they sing, 

O’er pain and sorrows olden 
Forever triumphing! 

Lowly may be thy portal, 

And dark may be thy door, 

The mansion is immortal— 

God’s palace for his poor. 

Jerusalem the golden! 

There all our birds that flew, 

Our flowers but half unfolden, 

Our pearls that turned to dew; 

And all the glad life music, 

Now heard no longer here, 

Shall come again to greet us 
As we are drawing near. 

Jerusalem the golden! 

I toil on, day by day ; 

Heartsore each night with longing, 

I stretch my hands and pray, 

That ’mid thy leaves of healing, 

My soul may find her nest, 

Where the wicked cease from troubling— 
The weary are at rest. 



HEAVEN OUR EVERLASTING HOME. 


REV. C. F. IvRIETE, A. M., FT. WAYNE, IND. 

HERE IS no place on earth like home. How 
many joys, comforts and sweet recollections are 
concentrated in this one word—Home? How 

longingly and affectionately we think of home 
when in distant lands where we must forego the 
sweet pleasures and comforts, which home alone 
can give! How much do we miss a kind father’s 
thoughtful love and a devoted mother’s tender care when 
sickness and trouble overtake us far away from home. No 
period in life, after we have left home to fight our own battles 
in life’s great conflict, will equal in sweetness and beauty the 
time spent in a happy, Christian home in the hopeful spring¬ 
time of life. 

And yet there is no abiding home on earth. All earthly 
homes will at the best only shelter us a few short years. No 
earthly home is perfect; no earthly home can give us com¬ 
plete satisfaction; no earthly home is entirely without pain 
or grief or disappointment on account of the lamentable, 
disturbing fact of sin. The awful power of sin has entered 
every home on earth, and brought in its train disturbance, 
unhappiness, separation and death. Since sin came into the 
world and through sin death, no home is sacred enough to 
shut out this last and terrible enemy of mankind—death. 
How many homes have been made desolate by the ravages of 
sin and invaded by the fell destroyer—death, tearing assunder 
all the holy ties, which bound heart and heart together in this 
life, bearing away at one place the ripened fruit, and at the 
other plucking out the tender flower. We have no abiding 
home on earth; we are all pilgrims and sojourners toward 
another country; we stop a little here and a little there, but 
our goal is eternity; we are strangers and pilgrims like all our 
fathers.” u Whither are we going, and what is our God-given 
destiny? Is it only to live a few short days, or months, or 
years, and then to fall back into hopeless nothingness ? Have 
we only been created to die ? and does death end all ? The 













HEAVEN. 


639 


voice of humanity, the voice of reason, the voice of the heart 
and of conscience, the voice of God—all answer emphatically, 
no. God has a better end in view for us; he has destined us 
for a higher existence and has given us the hope and the 
promise of an everlasting home in heaven. 

u God that made the world and all things therein, seeing 
that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples 
made with hands; ” but in heaven., in glory and majesty from 
which he looks down upon the children of men, and forgets 
not even the weakest of his children; he knows all their 
weakness and faults, their hopes and highest aspirations; he 
has an open eye, a hearing ear, and a loving heart for the 
silent tear, for the weakest sigh and for the sacred longing of 
the soul; he knows our need, and provided for our eternal 
welfare; he desires not the death of the sinner, but rather 
that he be happy and live for ever. Therefore he sent his 
Son into the world, to be our Savior and Redeemer, our friend 
and helper, our light and guide from, earth to heaven, that we 
poor, wandering sinners might find the way to an eternal 
home in heaven. He is the resurrection and the life, a and 
hath brought life and immortality to light in the gospel. 1 ’ He 
caused the sweet, uplifting rays of hope to fall into this dark, 
sin-cursed, hopeless world, and prepared for us this eternal 
home by his suffering and death upon the cross; for when he 
was about to depart this life, he said to his disciples, u In my 
Fathers house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would 
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go 
and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive 
you unto myself; that where l am, there ye may be also.” 

Christ did not for one moment leave his disciples in doubt 
as to the place, whither he was going. “I go to the Father 
who sent me.” “I ascend unto mv Father and your Father, 
and to my God and your God.” In his high priestly prayer 
we hear him say: u Father, I will that they also, whom thou 
hast given me, be with me, where I am; that they may behold 
my glory, which thou hast given me : for thou lovedst me 
before the foundation of the world.” Every child of God has 
the promise and pledge of an eternal inheritance in heaven. 
The Spirit of Christ gives testimony to our spirit “ that we 
are the children of God. And if children then heirs: heirs 


640 


HEAVEN. 


of God and joint-heirs with Christ.” Therefore the voice of 
the Christian’s consciousness says, “We know, that if our 
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a 
building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens.” Therefore we seek an eternal city, whose builder 
and maker is God. 

This home is eternal because God himself has prepared it 
to be our everlasting abiding place; it is eternal because there 
are no destructive or dissolving elements there; and is eternal 
because there is no sin there. No sin shall ever enter the 
sacred precincts of this God-given home of the soul. And 
because there is no sin in that celestial city, therefore, also no 
tears, no pain, no separation, no death. Everlasting joy and 
bliss shall be the lot of all those, who are permitted to enter 
there. Those who shall dwell in the eternal Father’s love. 
There we shall meet our elder brother, Jesus Christ. There 
we shall come to the innumerable family of the redeemed in 
heaven. What a blessed reunion that will be, when all, who 
struggled together upon earth, who suffered for the Master’s 
sake, who went through tribulation and strife—shall meet 
before the great white throne, coming home from the con¬ 
flicts of life, their robes all having been washed in the blood 
of the Lamb. 

There is only one way to this home and that is through 
Christ. And yet many allow their minds and hearts to 
become entangled by the fleeting things of time and sense, 
forgetting that all worldly things will vanish and all earthly 
beauty fade. ‘‘What shall it profit a man if he gain the 
whole world and lose his soul ?” Therefore we ought to seek 
that inheritance which is incorruptible, undefiled and passeth 
not away. Would we enter this everlasting home, we must 
be cleansed from sin, and perfected in Christ. 

Let us then make sure of this home in heaven. Let us live 
for eternity, and so demean ourselves that when the sum¬ 
mons comes for us to lay down this mortal clay, we may do it 
with the conscious hope that we are going to o'ur everlasting 
home in heaven where we shall be forever at rest, and sing in 
everlasting anthems, the Praise of God, who loved us, of 
Christ, who redeemed us, and of the Holy Ghost, who sancti¬ 
fied us. Amen. 


PRE-EMINENCE OF CHRIST IN HEAVEN. 



REV. GEO. W. WILLI ARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 


0 ONE can read the Scriptures without seeing 
the pre-eminent place which Christ is made to 
occupy. Prophets and apostles alike speak of him 
as above all others. So fully, indeed, does the 
person, character and work of Christ enter into the 
teaching of the Bible, that if all that is said of 
him were erased there would be but little left. 
The same is true of the love and worship of Christians. All 
love him with a supreme affection, and offer prayer and praise 
to him as they do to no one else. Take Christ away from 
the church and the worship of the saints, and there would be 
nothing left but the dryest form and the most unsatisfying 
service. 

What now is true as to the position which Christ occupies 
in the church on earth and in the affection of his people is 
pre-eminently so as to the place which he has in heaven, 
being the fairest among ten thousand and the one altogether 
lovely. Take Christ away from heaven it would not be the 
blissful, happy place of which the Bible speaks, and for 
which the saints on earth long, and pray, as it is his presence 
and worship that give it the attraction it has for the redeemed 
in glory, who unceasingly ascribe all honor, power, glory and 
dominion unto him, as the one through whom they were 
brought to that blessed abode. 

The following remarks from the pen of Dr. Alexander as to 
the pre-eminence of Christ in heaven, are so beautifully and 
forcibly expressed that we feel sure they will be read with 
interest: 

u As the twinkling stars,” says the late venerable Dr. 
Alexander, u are lost in the blaze of the rising sun, so there is 
One Person, in the highest heavens, visible to all who enter 
that place, whose glory irradiates all the celestial mansions; 
whose love and smiles diffuse ineffable joy through all the 
heavenly hosts; and in whom every believer has an absorbing 







642 


HEAVEN. 


interest, with which no other can be compared. On His head, 
He wears many crowns, and in His hand He holds a scepter, 
by which He governs the universe; but yet he exhibits, visibly, 
the marks of a violent death, which, for us, He once endured. 
His name is, The Word of God, King of Kings, and Lord of 
Lords, The Alpha and Omega, The Almighty. And, behold, 
all the angels of God worship Him. And the host of the 
redeemed, which no man can number, sing a song of praise 
to the Lamb, which no man can learn, except those that are 
redeemed from among men; for the burden of their song is, 
4 To Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His 
own blood.’ Every redeemed soul, Upon being admitted into 
heaven, will, for a while, be so completely absorbed in the 
contemplation of that Divine Person that he will be incapable 
of paying much attention to any other. Like that Armenian 
princess of whom Xenophon gives an account, who, after all 
the rest of the company had been expressing their admiration 
of Cyrus, one praising one thing and one another, upon being 
asked what about his royal personage she admired most, 
answered, that she did not even look at him, because her 
whole attention had been absorbed in admiring one (her 
young husband) who had offered to die for her. But the saved 
sinner may say, that his attention was completely absorbed 
in gazing upon Him, who hot only said He would die for him, 
but who actually did die, in his place, and, by this sacrifice,, 
redeemed him from the curse of the law, and from all 
iniquity.” 



i 


FRIENDS IN HEAVEN. 


LIVING divine says: u When I was a boy I 
thought of heaven as a great shining city, with 
vast walls, and domes, and spires, and with nobody 
in it except white angels, who were strangers to 
me. By and by my little brother died, and I 
thought of a great city, with walls, and domes and 
spires, and a flock of cold unknown angels, and one little fel¬ 
low that I was acquainted with. 

He was the only one I knew in it at that time. Then 
another brother died, and there were two that I knew. 

But it was not until I had sent one of my little children to 
his grandparent—God—that I began to think I had got a little 
in my self. A second went, a third went, a fourth went; and 
by that time I had so many acquaintances in heaven that I 
did not see any more walls, and domes, and spires. 

I began to think of the residents of the celestial city. And 
now there have so many of my acquaintances gone there that 
it sometimes seems to me that I know more in heaven than I 
do on earth. 


A HOME IN HEAVEN. 


A HOME in heaven ! What a joyful thought, 
As the poor man toils in his weary lot; 

His heart opprest, and with anguish driven 
From his home below, to his home in heaven. 

A home in heaven! As the sufferer lies 
On his bed of pain, and uplifts his eyes 
To that bright home; what a joy is given. 

With the blessed thought of his home in heaven. 











644 


HEAVEN. 


A home in heaven! When our pleasures fade, 

And our wealth and fame in the dust are laid, 

And strength decays, and our health is riven, 

We are happy still with our home in heaven. 

A home in heaven! When the faint heart bleeds 
By the Spirits stroke, for its evil deeds; 

Oh ! then what bliss in that heart forgiven, 

Does the hope inspire of a home in heaven. 

A home in heaven! When our friends are fled 
To the cheerless gloom of the mouldering dead; 

We wait in hope on the promise given; 

We will meet up there in our home in heaven. 

A home in heaven! When the wheel is broke, 

And the golden bowl by the terror-stroke; 

When life’s bright sun sinks in death’s dark even, 

We will then fly up to our home in heaven. 

Our home in heaven ! Oh, the glorious home, 

And the Spirit, joined with the Bride, says “ Come,” 
Come, seek his face, and your sins forgiven, 

And rejoice in hope of your home in heaven. 

— William Hunter. 





THE LIFE EVERLASTING. 


REV. GEO. W. WILLIARD, D. D., TIFFIN, 0. 

IONG THE many subjects for Christian reflection, 
a number of which are found in the book we are 
now about to send out in the homes of our land as 
a Treasury of Family Reading, ranging under the 
general topics of God, the Church, the Family, 
Life, Death and Heaven, none is more fitting as a 
conclusion than that of the Life Everlasting , 
which may be regarded as “ the consummation of 
God’s eternal purpose concerning his church, the great end for 
which he sent his son to be our Savior, the full reward of the 
Redeemer’s mediatorial work, the triumph of the Holy Ghost 
in sacrificing grace,” and as the full and perfect realization of 
the hopes and joys of the Christian. In the contemplation of 
a subject of such interest and importance, we should approach 
it with becoming reverence and seriousness that we may 
draw from it the inspiration it is calculated to impart. “ Let 
us, then, take our stand on the Pisgah of promise, and strive 
to catch through the mists that hang over the stream of death 
some glimpses of Beulah, the beautiful land, and of the Jer¬ 
usalem in the midst of it, where is our inheritance, incor¬ 
ruptible, undefiled and that fadeth not away ” for those u who 
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” 
There Jesus the forerunner hath for us entered, and thither 
the light streaming down through the rent vail will guide all 
his people. The contemplation will by the grace of the Spirit, 
increase our love to God, our zeal in his service, our patience 
under his discipline, and our strength for the honorable bur¬ 
dens to duty.” 

The idea of life, although beyond the comprehension of 
mortals, being one of those subjects, which, when we attempt 
to define elude our grasp, always carries with it the thought 
of vigor, activity and enjoyment. Where there is no life, 
stillness, rest and death reign supreme. It was only when 
God breathed into man the breath of life, that his body, 
although fearfully and wonderfully made, began to show 
signs of energy, motion and activity. Eliminate all life from 









HEAVEN. 


646 

this busy, active world of ours, where every thing is in con¬ 
stant motion and agitation, you at the same time put an end 
to all happiness and enjoyment. Hence it is that when we 
speak of life, whether we are able to define it or not, we 
always associate with it pleasure and enjoyment, and when 
we speak of death we at once think of darkness, gloom and 
misery. Keeping these thoughts before our minds, as we 
enter upon the contemplation of the Life Everlasting , we are 
at once led to regard it as comprehending the fullest and 
most perfect bliss of which, being constituted as we are, are 
susceptible. 

What the perfected bliss of the saints in heaven will be, we 
cannot now, with the limited knowledge we have of the 
future world, fully comprehend. This much, however, we 
may believe, that it will combine all the elements that entered 
into the original happy state of man before the fall. From 
what we know of that state, although not beyond the reach 
of temptation nor the possibility of a fall, the life which our 
first parents spent in Eden’s bowers in the intimate commun¬ 
ion they had with God, and the full enjoyment of all the good 
things around them, must have been a most joyous, happy 
one. For then the earth, not being as yet cursed by sin, was 
free from all the disorders and evils to which it is now sub¬ 
ject, and must have been a most delightsome home. The 
flowers and plants, trees, and vshrubs, the springs and brooks, 
the rivers and lakes, the gardens and lawns, the valleys and 
meadows, the hills and mountains, the music of the birds, the 
lowing of the beasts, the softness of the breezes, the whistling 
of the winds; in short every thing connected with the earth, 
the atmosphere and the heavens must have had a charm, 
beauty, sweetness, music and harmony which the imagina¬ 
tion cannot depict, all of which, being in full accord with the 
nature of man, must have made his pristine life one of the 
most complete happiness. 

From this blissful state, man by the instigation of the devil 
and his own wilful disobedience fell, and brought misery upon 
himself and his own posterity, so that his life became one of 
suffering and sorrow. God, however, in the plenitude of his 
mercy, took compassion on the fallen race, and sent his Son 
into the world to deliver all those who would believe in him 


HEAVEN. 


647 

from the curse of sin, and restore them to his forfeited favor, 
so that a fountain of life and salvation was opened up for all 
who would be saved, from which we see that the life everlast¬ 
ing, of which we speak, has its source and origin in Christ, 
from whom it is made to pass over into such as believe, by 
the quickening and regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit— 
a most wonderful scheme of grace, into which the angels desire 
to look, without being able to fathom its mystery. 

This new life being thus planted in the heart, and being a 
mightier power than that of sin, gradually subdues and elimi¬ 
nates it from those in whom it dwells and conforms them 
to the likeness and image of Christ, involving a constant 
struggle and conflict with alternate hopes and fears, joys and 
sorrows. It changes the bent and current of the mind from 
sin to holiness, from the world to Christ, and from earth to 
heaven, and starts those who possess it on the high way to 
glory. And, although weak and feeble, as all life is in its first 
stage, it gradually gains strength and power, and diffuses itself, 
like leaven in every part of our nature, imparting new vigor 
and energy, until the fullness of the stature of a perfect man 
in Christ is attained, according to what the apostle says, u In 
him (Christ) after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the 
Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, 
until the redemption of the purchased possession.” 

From what has now been said, we see that the life everlasting 
has its source in Christ by whom it was purchased, and is freely 
given, that it begins and matures itself on earth, and ripens 
into eternal glory in heaven, where, as in a second and more 
glorious Paradise, the ransomed of the Lord will enjoy bliss 
greater than that of which sin robbed us, as they will be beyond 
the contingencies of the first estate ; and where the soul in all 
its capacities will be filled to overflowing]with the love of God, 
so that it will know no weakness, no fear, no doubt, no imper¬ 
fections ; and where u the body, purged from all grossness by 
the transformation of the grave, and the resurrection, anima¬ 
ted in every part with ever-youthful health, and spiritualized 
into a near likeness of the transfiguring soul, will forever 
serve, assist, and enhance the blessedness of its immortal 
spirit; and the entire man be so perfect, as to be perfectly 
holy, wise, and vigorous j but not so perfect that he will cease 


648 


HEAVEN. 


to ascend higher and higher, expanding more and more, 
enjoying greater and greater bliss, because more and more 
like God. 

Whether the bliss comprehended in the life everlasting will 
be different and greater than that of the angels who kept 
their first estate, we know not, as God has not seen fit to give 
us any revelation on the subject. This much, however, we do 
know, and it ought to be sufficient for us, that all, saints and 
angels, will be perfectly happy, and that one will not envy 
the greater felicity of the other, if such should be the case, but 
will fully and forever rejoice in each other’s perfected bliss. 

And now, kind reader, we bring our reflections to a close. 
We have tried to bring you to a proper knowledge of God, and 
union with Christ in the Church. We v have spoken to you of 
the^family to which you belong, as a divine constitution, and 
as a home where father and mother, husband and wife, brother 
and sister, should dwell in peace and contentment, mutually 
striving to advance each other’s welfare. We have spoken of 
life, its cares, its duties, its uncertainty, and great responsi¬ 
bility. We have spoken of death, and the grave to which we 
are all going, and where we will all soon be; and after laying 
the body into the grave in the hope of a blessed resurrection, 
at the last day, we have followed the soul in its flight to the 
future world, where, if washed and cleansed by the blood of 
Christ, it will find a happy and everlasting home in our 
Father’s house in the full enjoyment of the life everlasting, 
to which our earnest prayer is that you and we may each 
attain. Amen. , 






































































































































































































































































































































































































































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